Time of change
by EmeralDarius7731
Summary: Ten years after the Battle of Hogwarts muggles became aware of the magical world. They weren't ready and they feared the magical. The hunts on magic begun and few survived. Hercules Potter, great-grandson of Harry Potter, was one of those few. This is the story of a young boy with the weight of the world on his shoulders, to save his family and both the past and the future.
1. Chapter 1

Time Of Change

Prologue

For as long as he could remember there had only ever been few of them. His first memory was of his mother, back before she had been killed protecting his sisters, telling him why she had named him Hercules.

"One day you will save us, my Hercules. You will go up against gods and monsters and you will win. You'll win because of love, your love of your family."

Three weeks Hercules stood by his father as they watched his mother be put to rest for the last time. His father cried, they all had, but the next day it was like nothing had happened; as though nothing had changed, but there was one less person around.

"Be careful Dad!

His father looked to him, the burning green eyes he had inherited shinning strong. At the young age of four Hercules could already see his father's pain and understood it.

"I always am, my little demigod. I'll be back for dinner."

He ruffled Hercules' hair, black unlike everyone else in the family who had dark brown, and left. Hercules closed his eyes and cried, trying to ignore the feeling in his gut.

His father didn't make it back. Nor did his uncles Arty and Emmett, or his cousin Lucy. That night he cried himself to sleep on the couch overlooking the entrance to the house. He didn't even feel as strong arms picked him up, carrying him deeper into the house then he had ever been before.

The next morning he met his great-grandfather, the man he had been named after.

"Good morning, child."

Hercules stared at the man sitting at the edge of the bed, smiling softly to him. This man had silver through his hair and bright green eyes, filled with wisdom and care. Hercules knew at once who he was.

"Great-grandfather?" He had breathed the question. The man smiled, reaching out to touch Hercules' forehead softly.

"Now, none of that. Just call me Harry, everyone always has" he smiled again. "Now, Hercules, I will teach you. I will teach you, prepare you for the wars to come, in ways I never was. It will help you to save us. I am so sorry, my dear boy, for this, but I will do everything I can to help you."

At the time Hercules had stared at his great-grandfather, not really understanding what the old man was talking about. As he grew though...with Harry by his side, he grew to understand all too well.

"There will come a time, Hercules" Harry told him one night as they ate. Since meeting the old man Hercules had begun eating with him, hardly ever seeing the rest of the family. "There will come a time when you must leave us." He took something from his pocket and passed it across the table to Hercules. "If you don't use it...Merlin and gods help us all."

"What is it?" Hercules looked at the same package. It didn't look large enough to hold much.

"A time turner" Harry smiled and Hercules noticed a shadow of a memory crossing his eyes. For a moment the smile dropped, then came back just as strong as the memory disappeared. "One of the last here. It will take you back years, before I or any of the family you know were born. You'll be in a completely different world from this one. Wizards and witches live in freedom under their Ministries, with only Dark Lords to fear. There will be no hunts, no killings of us by the muggles."

Hercules eyes widened at the thought. Then he frowned, looking at the package again. "How can I change this?"

Harry smiled, as if he had been waiting for the question. He took one of Hercules' hands softly, turning each of them so green eyes bored into green eyes.

"You must make sure that Lord Voldemort does not rise to power for the second time. He must to killed before I would go to Hogwarts, in 1991. You need to control the merge between the magical and muggle worlds. Become friends with Severus Snape and Lily Evens and do not go into Gryffindor or Slytherin. No one will listen to you if you do. It would be best to aim for Ravenclaw. You must promise me, Hercules, that even if you don't do any of this - to stop this world from becoming what it is - you MUST stop Arthur Weasley from signing the integration act of 1999 with the muggle prime minister. That is where this all begun, as that was the day muggles found out about our world. They weren't ready and they feared us."

Hercules nodded in understanding. He had enough history lessons, more then enough to hate his great-great-grandfather. Arthur Weasley had killed magic's chance of living free by that move, and those he knew about it hated him for it.

"When will I be going?"

Harry bit back a laugh but nodded, sitting back and realising Hercules' hand. "Soon. Too soon, I few, and too far away. When you turn ten you will be sent back to the year 1970. It will give you a year to be use to the time, to know your family. You will take the place of my father's cousin, who we were both named for, as he was to die that year, your memories and magic will be transferred to his body."

Hercules nodded with a smile, looking down at his food. 1970. That was sixty seven in the past. A time that no one could tell him about.

"Will I be alone?" His question came out as a whisper but he knew his great-grandfather would hear it. He looked up to his see Harry smile, as he always did, and this time it didn't look forced, his eyes were soft too.

Harry shock his head. "No, you will not be alone." He smiled again, looking to wall behind the child. "You remind me of myself. I was older then you at the time but..."

Hercules stared at the old man. Harry had never spoken of his past, his time at Hogwarts school, but the rest of the family had. To Harry, though, it was painful, and it was why he hid from the family so much.

Hercules smiled at the memory. He missed his great-grandfather. Harry, who he had come to love as another father and an older brother rolled into one, just as a teacher and guardian as well. Unbidden the memory of the last time he saw the old man came.

The first shock came before dawn. It woke him and every other person in the house, most likely in the whole neighbourhood.

"Hercules? Hercules!"

"Harry!" Hercules called through the rubble his bedroom had become. The shake - the bomb - had caused it.

"Hold on, son!" Harry shouted back and it was only moments later that Hercules saw rubble flying away from him, allowing Harry through.

"What's going on? How did they find us?" Hercules asked as he clung to the old man.

"They didn't" Harry sighed in answer, hugging Hercules back just as tightly. "But it's only time. That was them taking out Noir Alley."

Noir Alley was the magical town closest to them; the place that held their magical circles, stopping the houses from being seen or found by the muggles.

"We have to run" Harry stated after a moment, pulling back. "Do you have your wand? The time turner?"

Hercules swallowed and nodded. Harry grabbed him, pulling him up to sit on the old man's hip and then they were running. They passed their family, running along uncles, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, cousins as they tried to find safety.

"THERE! MAGICS! WE HAVE THEM!"

Hercules closed his eyes tightly at the sound, twisting slightly to see over Harry's shoulder at the people chasing them. Three muggle men and a muggle woman, all with guns pointed to the group. Then the screams came.

"NO!"

The scream would stay with him until he died. It came from many, even the muggle woman who was shooting at them, telling others their loved ones had just been killed. Hercules turned in time to see a cousin of his - Jamie - who was only a couple years older, fall. He stared at the body until it was out of sight.

Harry didn't stop until they were in the forest. They, the whole family, knew the first completely. The muggles didn't have much of a chance.

Harry stopped suddenly as they reached a clearing. He pulled Hercules down and knelt in front of the boy, hands going down Hercules' arms, Harry's eyes filled with pain, with determination, with acceptance. Hercules nodded, knowing what was coming.

"I'll hold them off for as long as I can" Harry's voice broke as he spoke. "You have to go Hercules. You're our only hope. You have to go - now! Use the time turner! GO!"

Hercules turned and ran. He didn't look back, knowing if he did, if he saw... He couldn't stop the tears running down his checks. Trees and water blurred his vision but he ran on, not knowing where, not caring where.

The shot sounded.

Birds flew from the trees and suddenly everything just...stopped.

Hercules turned, slowly, back. He waited, wishing, hoping. The silence stretched on and he knew.

A pale hand acted on its own, reaching into his pocket, pulling out the only thing he had, now, from his family, and turned the timer six times, then seven. The world blurred into colour, into white, then, blissfully, black.

Hercules chocked back a sob at the memory, pressing his forehead into the window of his bedroom. He was sure that memory, as all the deaths he had known of, would always to the hardest.

"Hercules? Dinner's ready!"

He blinked tears away, forcing the memories of another time away, and smiled at the sound of his second mother's voice. Because they were all he had, and he wasn't going to allow them to end the same way as so many of his family had before.

"Coming!"


	2. Chapter 2

**So here's the first chapter. I've added a couple of characters but they'll all be important to the story. Hopefully you like. :)**

Chapter One

It was the beginning of the summer in 1971, coming to almost a year since Hercules had come back in time, when his Hogwarts letter first arrived. It had been in the middle of breakfast and the owl stole his toast when it flew off, leaving the letter in the middle of the table.

"Oh my!" His mother sighed, sounding faint. Hercules and his father looked to her in worry but the woman was smiling, her hand on her heart as she looked at the letter on the table. "Hercules! That is your Hogwarts letter!"

"Truly?" Hercules stared at the letter he had only heard of in stories. He reached of it, almost in a dream as he did so. His hand stopped close to the parchment, then he grabbed it, pulling it to him. This was it. This was the start of his journey.

"Well, go on then son!" His father grinned at him, excitement written all over his face. "Open it!"

Hercules grinned and did as his father told him.

"Dear Mr. H D Potter, You are herby accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardary..." He went off, reading the rest in his head, his smile growing wider as he did. Finally he looked up at his parents, a large grin fully planted on his face. "I'm going to Hogwarts!"

His parents grinned back. Hercules looked down at the letter again, the grin still on his face; thoughts of the future long from his mind.

"Oh - we will need to shop!" His mother squealed. "Tomorrow, of course!"

"Of course" his father agreed, nodding along. "And we will pay you a big present Hercules. Our boy's going to Hogwarts!"

Hercules let out a whoop of joy and ran from the room, the letter floating in his hand over his head. He didn't stop until he reached his room, still grinning.

He stopped as soon as the door to his room closed, his eyes locked on the time turner across the room. He had placed it in view of the door, making sure that every time he walked back into the room he would remember why he was there, no matter what mood he was in. This time, he hated it.

"Oh" he whispered to thin air, his smile dropping quickly and his eyes closing. Images of his family - his birth family - came to mind. He blinked hard and turned away from the time turner, going to his bed.

How could he be so stupid? This was what he had been preparing for since he was four years old. This was why his family...why Harry had died; why he had been sent back in time.

For the rest of the day he acted so a normal ten-going-eleven year old would, just accepted to Hogwarts. That night, for the first time since his first night in 1970, he cried himself to sleep, his dreams filled with memories.

"Come on Hercules! Edward!"

Hercules grinned as his mother called for himself and his father once again.

"We don't want to be late!"

"Coming!" Hercules shut his trunk, running from his room with the trunk banging along behind him, owl cage in his other hand. His mother smiled happily to him once he reached her. His father joined them only seconds later, an old boot in his hands. Hercules sighed.

"Are you sure, Edward?" His mother eyed the boot warily. "It would be so much easier to Apperate there."

Edward looked to the boot, then to his wife and nodded. He took the trunk and owl cage, with the owl inside, from his son, twisted on the spot and disappeared. Hercules turned to his mother as soon as his father was gone and almost at once he was embraced in a hug.

"Oh, my dear boy" she whispered into his hair. "Off to Hogwarts. It seems like only yesterday you were...oh, I am so glad you got better, my Hercules."

Hercules just stopped himself from tensing as his mother spoke, nodding into her stomach. He closed his eyes as he felt her move and was suddenly shoved into the tube, re-appearing a second later on Platform 9 3/4, the Hogwarts Express gleaming in front of him.

"Oh wow" his whisper was only heard by his mother and she smiled at him, pulling him through the crowd of other parents, children, trunks and animals to where his father stood, near the back of the train.

"Now, remember -" his mother begun, kneeling in front of him. Hercules smiled to her, hugging her only to stop the goodbyes. He had enough of them; way too many really.

"I'll remember to write every week" he muttered. "And I'll be back at Christmas and Easter."

His father grinned and his mother stood, giving him one more look-over, then pushed him towards the train. His father pulled him into a hug, keeping him close for a moment, then pulled away, holding Hercules at arm distance.

"Now, be good son" he told Hercules. "Make friends and get good grades, you hear me?"

"Yes dad" Hercules smiled, stopping himself from rolling his eyes. He hugged both parents once more, then turned and almost ran to the train. He leaned out of the door once he was onboard and waved to them once more before starting to search for a compartment.

Severus Snape stood close to his mother, watching the families around them closely.

"Come on Severus!" His older brother, Radford, called from one of the windows. "Get on!"

Severus glanced at his brother before turning to their mother. "Are you sure you'll be...?" He didn't finish the sentence, not even sure how to finish it. His mother smiled to him, patting his check.

"You are a good boy, Severus" she told him softly. "But you need your own life. Hogwarts will let you do this. I will be fine, as will your brothers and sisters. Remember, it will only be a year before Jadzia and Eillionoir follow you here. I will sent letters...when I can."

Severus smiled a sad smile and nodded. He turned away, not looking back as he walked to the train.

"Will she be ok?" He asked his sister. Paloma smiled the same sad smile he had just given their mother, nodding.

"She always is" she answered. A happier smile came on her features, looking around. "Now, I am going to find my friends. Don't think too much about our family, Severus. Enjoy Hogwarts." And with that she turned, disappearing into the crowd of older students.

Severus turned to his brother, only to find that Radford had also disappeared, most likely to find his own friends. Severus allowed a small sigh, looking around. He was in the middle of what looked like the fifth year compartments and there was no one his own age around.

"Hey, kid!"

Severus spun around, not only at the shout but at the hand which had dropped onto his shoulder. He stared with wide eyes at the older boy, a seventh year by the long of him, standing there.

"Are you lost?" The older boy asked kindly. He wore blue robes - Ravenclaw, if Severus remember correctly. He nodded mutely. The older boy smiled and pointed ahead, where Severus had been going. "Just walk down the next three carriages. The one after that will be filled with first years, OK?"

"Thank you" Severus nodded to the older boy, turning quickly to walk away. He heard the boy mutter behind him but didn't stop. He ducked sweets and waving hands, ignoring shouts and questions; pressing himself up against the side of the train sometimes to avoid running students, but finally made it to the last carriage.

"What are you looking at?"

Severus closed the door of the first compartment quickly at the question, ignoring the laugher which followed, walking on. It wasn't until the second to last that he found a compartment with only one other student in it. He opened the door, biting the inside of his check as he looked to the other boy sitting there.

"Hello."

Severus jumped slightly, eyes focusing on the boy sitting within the compartment. He blinked, then remembered his manners. "Hello. May I sit here? The other children would not let me sit in their compartments."

"Sure" Severus didn't notice the frown on the other boy's face as he sat. A moment later a hand reached out to him in greeting. "My name is Hercules Potter."

"Severus Snape" Severus shock the hand, watching Hercules closely. The other just smiled and nodded, taking his hand away just as anyone else would. Severus frowned. "I thought the Potter family was a pure blood family."

"We are" Hercules agreed with a frown, not understanding where Severus was going.

"But you didn't..." he went off, not sure how to finish the statement. Seeing Hercules still confused look, he tried. "My brother told me pure bloods comment if they come across a surname they don't know."

"Oh" Hercules sneered but Severus had a feeling it wasn't at him. He nodded after a moment. "Some do. My uncle, Charlus Potter, is like that, and brought his son James, my cousin, up like that. My dad and mum don't see any point in that. I have magic, you have magic. What's the point in being mean to someone because of their family? It's not like we can chose our own parents."

Severus let out a rare grin. "No...I hate my father! If I had chance, I would never be related to him!" He opened his mouth to say more but just as he begun to talk again the compartment door was jerked open and another boy of their age ran in, slamming the door shut behind him. The boy slid to the floor, covering his hair with his hands, making himself as small as possible.

"Are you ok?" Hercules asked the unknown boy as the minutes passed.

"One minute" the boy whispered, glancing out of the corner of his arms, through the glass of the door. A second later he tucked his head back down and not a second too soon as a group of older boys, around Paloma's age if not older, ran past.

"Are you sure he went this way Felix?" One of the girls asked. "If so, your brother will be fine. He's with those of his own age now."

A grumble was heard and then the group walked back past the doors, disappearing into the carriages for the older students. As soon as they were completely gone the boy slumped against the door, leaning back against it with a slight smile on his face, his hands going down to his sides, and it became understandable as to why he was hiding his hair was with them.

"Is...is it normal for your hair to be silver?" Severus asked the boy softly. The kid's eyes snapped open, bright blue eyes staring at him before they snapped upwards, is if he could see his hair.

"Oh no!" he pulled a lock down in front of his eyes. "No. No, it's only when I'm really emotional. Felix..." He sighed, looking behind him and out of the compartment. "He's annoyed I'm more powerful then him and can understand theory better then him already, and he's a sixth year!"

"So he wasn't following you to check to make sure you were alright?" Hercules guessed. The boy shock his head, his hair already turning darker.

"Felix's never really liked me" he shrugged as if it was normal for an older brother not to like their younger brother. "He hates that our parents spend more time with me and then they spend more money on me. Felix got Dad's old robes and old trunk and I got new stuff. But it's not like I asked for it! And I'm sure Hannah, Alice and Holly'll get new stuff, just like me, if they come here too!"

The boy paused, breathing quickly. Hercules reached forward, gripped one of the boy's hands, causing those blue eyes to snap to him, bright blue boring into brilliant green.

"Slow down" Hercules grinned. "First, what's your name? I'm Hercules Potter and this is Severus Snape."

"Leroy...Jethro Gibbs" the boy looked down as he said his middle name. "I never liked the name Leroy though. Dad named me after a friend of his."

"What about LJ?" Severus asked, leaning forward, his elbows on his knees. Leroy, LJ, thought it over and smiled, eyes locking with Severus, then Hercules.

"Yeah, I think I like LJ. Better then Leroy" he grinned, then nodded again. Hercules and Severus grinned back.

"Ok then" Hercules stated. "We'll call you LJ for now on."

"What about your names?" LJ asked, biting his lip afterwards. "You need nicknames too!"

Severus frowned, the thought so strange to him, but Hercules looked thoughtful.

"I don't think my name is easy to make a nickname from" Hercules said truthfully. "My parents never called me anything apart from Hercules."

"Same" Severus muttered, but he was sure it was for a different reason.

LJ's smile dropped to a frown. "Well, we'll just have to think of something then, I guess." He got up from the floor finally, sitting in the corner on Hercules' side of the compartment, hugging his knees close to his chest, still glancing every now and then to the door.

"What houses do you think you'll be in?" Severus blurted suddenly as the silence stretched on. "My sister and brother are both in Slytherin. I'm hoping for that as well - I'm not brave, loyal or too book smart."

"I'm hoping for Ravenclaw" Hercules smiled at the thought. "I've always loved books and my mum was in that house too."

"I think I'll be in Hufflepuff" LJ muttered. "I hope I'm not in Gryffindor though! That's where Felix is!"

"Why don't you want to be in Hufflepuff?" Hercules frowned. "I have a aunt who was in Hufflepuff and she's wonderful!"

LJ not his lip and shrugged. "Lots of people say it's the house for left-overs who don't really belong anywhere else."

"It's not that!" Severus shouted, blushing slightly at how loud his voice got. "Hufflepuff is the house of the loyal and hard working. It means you'll stick at something for as long as it takes to get right, and that you'll stick to your friends sides as long as you stay friends!"

Silence filled the compartment. Hercules glanced out of the window, Severus looked at the ground his checks still a soft pink, and LJ looked between the two of them.

"Will we?" LJ asked softly. Severus and Hercules looked over to him, Severus' eyebrows raised and Hercules frowning. LJ blushed, looking down slightly. "Will we stay friends? Even if we are in different houses?"

"That'd be nice" Hercules muttered after a moment of silence. Severus nodded slowly.

"I think I would like that" he agreed. LJ smiled happily, his blush still high on his neck. Severus smiled slightly, turning to stare out of the window, his eyes lost in joy of something he had never had before.

 **If you could just leave a little note saying if I should go on with the story, please? Thanks! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, back again! Here's the next chapter. Hope you guys like it! You'll meet a couple of my new characters but they'll be important. Here ya go!**

Chapter Two

"We will be arriving at Hogwarts in ten minutes. Please leave your luggage on the train."

Romulus Lupin glanced up at his brother as soon as the voice sounded overhead, grinning. Remus grinned back, sharing it with the other boys in their compartment.

"Hogwarts! So close!" James Potter punched the air, slapping his other hand against the boy on the other side of him.

"Finally!" Sirius Black agreed. "Gryffindor here we come!" He reached across, gripping Remus' arm tightly. Romulus' smile dropped slightly when his brother didn't reach out to him, his head dropped back down to stare at the book he had been reading most of the journey. At least his brother had found friends.

The train slowed down quickly after the announcement. James and Sirius dropped by as soon as the train had completely stopped, Sirius dragged Remus along as they ran from the compartment and onto the platform they had stopped on. Remus just had time to shot an apologetic look over his shoulder to Romulus before he was gone. The older boy shock his head, a small sad smile playing on his lips as he stood slowly to follow the others out of the Hogwarts Express.

"First years! First years, over here!"

Romulus turned quickly at the sound of the loud voice and his eyes widened at once. Standing almost as tall as a house was a big man, a lamp in one hand, calling, making his way through the crowd to stand in the middle. Romulus glanced around, watching as the older students walked one way, those around his own age going to the big man still calling for first years. Romulus made his way over, clutching the book close to him.

"All here?" The big man called, looking down at the group which had collected at his legs. He raised his voice, calling to the students still on the platform. "First years! Any more first years?"

A couple of clearly first year students broke from the crowd, scurrying over to those their own age. A tall dark skinned boy slid into the crowd next to Romulus and the two exchanged a smile just as the crowd started off, following the man to a group of boats.

"No more then four to a boat!" The man called over his shoulder, getting into the boat at the front on his own, lamp high above his head once he sat. Romulus took one of the nearby boats, climbing in with the boy he had smiled to; the two were joined moments later by a girl with long red hair and another boy with mousy brown hair and big ears.

"Forward!" The man called and the boats moved off as one. Romulus clutched the side of the boat, eyes fearful when he saw the dark water they floated on. A dark hand landed on his other arm softly.

"Are you alright?"

Romulus swallowed, looking to the boy next to him. He had kind eyes and spoke slowly, his voice already low. Romulus swallowed again and nodded jerky.

"Just...don't like water" he muttered. The boy smiled kindly and Romulus let a breath out, thankful the other wasn't making fun of him.

"Nor does my father" the boy nodded in understanding. "He told me to look for land when I feel sick."

Romulus nodded, looking around. His eyes caught on bright lights and his breath stopped for a second at his first sight of Hogwarts. The school truly was magnificent. "Oh gods."

The others in his boat, as well as many around them, followed Romulus' gaze to the castle. The building towered over them, proud with floor to ceiling windows and doors big enough to allow ten times the size of the man in front boat. There were floating candles along a path from the lake to the front doors, where Romulus guessed they would be led once they had docked.

"We're going to staying there for seven years?" The awe in the girl's voice was obvious and Romulus grinned, already knowing the answer and loving it. From what seemed far away Romulus heard a slow voice answer in positive to the girl's question and he turned from the voice's owner, smiling.

"Head's down!"

Romulus ducked slightly, along with the other kids, eyes still stuck on Hogwarts until they rounded a corner in the lake and the school was no longer visible. Romulus shut his eyes tightly for a moment, breathing deeply; his heart began to race and -

The boat bumped onto the shore bed. A soft hand squeezed his and Romulus found he was able to breath again. The hand squeezed his again and Romulus glanced up, trying to smile at the concerned dark eyes which looked back at him.

"Are you alright?" That soft, slow voice asked, grounding Romulus. He nodded slowly and stood with a slight wobble. He reached out, a hand going to the other boy's shoulder as he stepped from the boat.

"Thank you" Romulus muttered, voice soft and his ears bright red. The boy just smiled back, squeezed Romulus once again and pulled away, making sure Romulus was steady enough and kept close. Together they walked up to the castle; up to Hogwarts.

Hercules wasn't too sure what to think of Hogwarts. To him it had always been a story; a tale filled with wonder, thoughts of another happier time that Hercules could never reach, could never be part of. Now, though, it was in front of him. He was walking towards the castle, along with many other first years.

"I can't believe Dad and Felix!" LJ muttered from his right. "Going on 'bout horseless carriages, ghosts and stuff! I was looking forward to seeing a ghost!"

"Paloma said there were ghosts at Hogwarts" Severus frowned as he thought. "I think Hogwarts: A History mentioned ghosts a few times too."

LJ grinned, his blue eyes sparkling and his hair flickered from its normal dark brown to bright orange, almost luminescent with the same joy written on the boy's face. Hercules grinned, Severus smiled secretly and everyone else around them stared.

"LJ...your hair" Severus pointed out after a moment. The now orange-haired boy growled, pulling his hair in front of his eyes again and sighed, putting it back in place with a shrug. He turned to his friends with a grin and another shrug.

"Doesn't look too bad, does it?"

Hercules laughed and it took a moment for Severus to join in. LJ ran a hand through his hair, still grinning. The orange hair stayed all the way up to Hogwarts, as did the stares it caused.

Professor Minerva McGonagall had no idea what to think of the coming year, even after meeting them. She could point out brothers and sisters, sons and daughters of her old students, but apart from that...

There was a boy with orange hair who seemed happy about it, standing next to two dark haired boys - one who looked like a younger version of Radford Snape and the other had the normal Potter messy hair but with bright green eyes, unlike any Potter she had known.

Stark white hair of a Malfoy stood out, and at once Minerva was sure the boy was Lucius Malfoy's younger brother, standing next to a boy with bright red hair, a Weasley clearly, and a two girls with short light brown hair, most likely the Nott twins.

On the other side of the room, keeping the non-magical born students between them, was the other Potter boy with two other boys - one with soft blonde hair and amber eyes and the other with long black hair and grey eyes which marked a Black. Minerva fought hard to keep the look of shock off her face. A Potter friends with a Black and a werewolf? What would his grandfather think? Minerva nodded suddenly, understanding. That Potter was the son of Charlus Potter, who hated the Dark; who was quite outspoken about his opinion and had brought his eldest son up the same way. That would mean...

She looked back over to the other Potter boy in the group. He was smiling with his friends, the orange-haired boy had changed his hair slowly, the colour going from orange to what looked like blue. That was Hercules Potter then - the boy Albus had told her to watch out for. Why though, Minerva was confused by. The boy seemed nice enough, as did his family from what Minerva knew.

The ghosts flouted through the wall, as they always did, to welcome the new students in their own way. The muggle-born and raised jumped, some screaming and other pointing, but they all stared. The boy with the changing hair grinned at the ghosts, reaching a hand out to the nearest ghost, shivering when the ghost passed through him but the grin stayed on his face. His hair changed quickly from the blue it had become to bright purple. His friends burst out laughing when they saw the colour and Minerva had to agree with their statement - the colour was horrible on the boy. The boy just grinned though.

"Clear off now! The welcoming feast is about to start!" Minerva called once the ghosts had finished their routine. They floated back through the wall they had come from, back into the Great Hall. Minerva looked over the students, smiling slightly when the boy's hair turned back to natural dark brown and one of the girls took a large bow from her hair, stuffing it into one of her pockets.

"Now! Form a straight line" she told them. The students did as she asked without argument and little pushing or even talking. "Follow me."

She turned, walking to the Great Hall. The students followed closely, the first kid right behind her. They followed her into the hall and the mutters grew.

"Oh wow! Look at that ceiling!"

"It's wonderful."

"I heard it's a spell to show what the night sky looks like."

Minerva turned, just as she heard the last statement, waving to the front of the hall, before the platform where the teacher's table lay. The students stood in front of it, waiting nervously. Minerva glanced over them, looking for the boy who had called out the last statement. Clearly he would be a Ravenclaw.

"Now, when I call up your name, you will come forward and the sorting hat with place you into your new house" she explained to the students, waving down the list of students. "Albert, Gregory!"

A small boy stumbled forward, nipping at his lip as he walked up. His hands shock as they clutched at the edges of the stool he sat on.

"RAVENCLAW!" The hat shouted out a moment later. Minerva kept her raised eyebrow to herself as she took the hat from the child's head. He ran off to the blue and bronze clapping table, his face much more relaxed then it had been a moment ago.

"Avery, Miles!" Minerva called out the next name. The boy swaggered forward, a far cry from the boy before him.

"SLYTHERIN!" The hat had hardly touched Avery's head before it shouted out. Avery smirked, swaggering away. He sneered when he sat at the green and silver table on the other side to Lucius Malfoy.

"Black, Sirius!"

The boy who had stood by Charlus Potter's son walked forward, his face stony and his eyes determined. He stared on the stool much longer then either Albert or Avery and Minerva could even hear the hat muttering to itself.

"GRYFFINDOR!" It finally called out. Minerva took the hat from Black's head, smiling slightly to the new student in her house, watching as his face relaxed so much that he was grinning as he ran to the red and gold table, slumping in the chair he got to first.

"Brooke, Emily!"

The sorting went on. Minerva called name after name, most of them blurring together. Brooke went to Hufflepuff; the David twins were both sorted into Ravenclaw, and their friend friend Sally Ellis went to Gryffindor; the Lupin twins, the two werewolves, were sorted into different houses - Remus went to Gryffindor, grinning at Sirius Black when he slid into the chair next to the darker haired boy, and Romulus went to Ravenclaw, smiling shyly to Gregory Albert next to him. Minerva learned that the boy with the changing hair was called Leroy Gibbs and he went to Hufflepuff and it looked like he thought it would happen. Hercules was sorted before his cousin James, Hercules going to Ravenclaw while grinning to his friends, and James ran to join his friends at Gryffindor table as soon as the hat called out its choice. The last of that little group was called Severus Snape and he went to Slytherin, sitting next to Lucius Malfoy with a smile to the older boy, the younger Malfoy on Snape's other side. Lastly Sam Zoo was sorted into Hufflepuff and the sorted ended.

Minerva rolled up the name scroll, taking the stool and hat with her as she walked off, hearing Professor Dumbledore stand just as she closed the door to the staff room.

"Welcome to Slytherin."

Severus glanced up to the older boy he had sat next to. This boy had long white hair with pale skin and cold grey eyes, smiling slightly at Severus and the rest of the first year Slytherin students. His eyes sort out a few of them, Severus included, and he had a sudden feeling of foreboding.

"Lucius! Is that your younger brother?"

The boy on the other side of Severus blushed, his checks going quite pink. There was no mistake that he and the older boy - Lucius - were related. They were almost copies of each other, only different in ages and the chances which came with that.

"Yes Bellatrix" Lucius smiled, meant to be warmly Severus was sure but the boy seemed like ice and the smile did nothing to melt that idea. "Meet Caesar Malfoy, my younger brother. Caesar, meet Narcissa's older sister, Bellatrix Black."

The white haired boy nodded politely to the older girl. Bellatrix smiled back, nodding as she looked Caesar over. Severus glanced down at his plate, suddenly wishing the headmaster would hurry up so they could eat. It was uncomfortable being in the middle of what clearly was family.

"Sorry about my brother."

Severus turned to Caesar. The young Malfoy glanced up at Severus though his eyelashes, still blushing. Severus glanced at the older Malfoy out of the corner of his eye, then turned back to Caesar after seeing Lucius was talking with others around him.

"It was slightly uncomfortable" he muttered. "You shouldn't have to apologise for someone else. It's ok."

Caesar smiled and nodded. They turned to the front of the hall, watching the headmaster as he finished his welcoming to new students and staff.

"...and finally, I am happy to welcome this year's defence against the dark arts teacher. Please join me in welcome Professor Evan Moss."

Professor Evan Moss was a tall man with short curly hair and kind eyes. He looked more like the teachers Severus had at his muggle school then those the professor sat around at Hogwarts. Looking around at the other Slytherin students Severus was sure Professor Moss wouldn't last a day if he crossed them.

"Tuck in!"

The food appeared on the tables and Severus stared, not use to so much food at a single time. "Oh wow."

Caesar and Lucius glanced at him, exchanging a look.

"Are you muggle born?" Lucius asked, eyebrows raised. Severus sneered, shaking his head as he pulled up his plate.

"Hardly" he muttered. "My father hated magic after my sister begun Hogwarts and forbid my mother from using it in the house since I was seven. Also I am not use to this much food in a place at a single time."

The Malfoy boys nodded, Lucius going back to his talking with his friends and Caesar to his food. Severus picked up at the pie he had chosen, suddenly not hungry. Thinking about his family had caused a sick-like feeling in his stomach and a longing in his heart. Though he had never felt it before, and really was quite surprised by the feeling, Severus knew he was homesick.

Hercules felt crowded. He wasn't use to there being so many people around him at the same time, even when there had been family meals; it was odd and caused his heart to feel too fast and the space around him too small. He smiled though, eating, laughing and talking with the rest around him.

"So, is James Potter your brother?" A boy from the year above him asked, leaning over Abigail David to speak with him. Abbie frowned, suddenly unable to get to her food because of the big second year.

"No" Hercules told the second year with a frown. "He's my cousin. I think Abbie wants to get past you."

The second year frowned, then saw the girl he had leaned over. He leaned back, muttering an apology as he did. Abbie smiled with a huge blush to Hercules, the boy smiling slightly back to her as he reached out for a hamburger.

"I'm sorry about your friend, Hercules" a boy Hercules hadn't gotten the name of, who he was quite sure was a first year too, stated suddenly. Hercules looked up from his food, frowning at the boy and not just because of the question.

"Why?" He asked, glancing quickly to Severus as he did so. The pale skinned boy looked unset at something, staring at his plate with a strange look on his face. He looked back at the unknown boy.

"He's a Slytherin" the boy to.d him with annoying sureness. "Everyone knows that anyone who goes into Slytherin becomes a Dark wizard."

Hercules frown deepened. "My grandfather was in Slytherin, so was his father. They aren't Dark wizards - both of them were aurors."

"That's not possible!" The boy shouted, pocking his fork at Hercules. "Every Slytherin follows the Dark Lord, everyone knows that! I can't believe..."

A fifth year, one of the prefects, placed a calm hand on the boy's shoulder, stoping him from doing anything more from shouting at Hercules. The first year calmed, blinking and looked away.

"What's his problem?" One of the other first years further down the table asked to the closest higher year. Hercules closely listened in, an eyebrow raised.

"His family has always followed Dumbledore and the Light side. His father was killed when he was very young, by Dark followers who were all in Slytherin. It caused the family to hate the Dark and Slytherins even more" the high year explained softly. Hercules sighed, looking down to his food.

"Are you ok?" The voice of Romulus Lupin asked softly from his right. Hercules smiled and nodded, mind working fast. The first part of his great-grandfather's plan was about to be put into action.

"It seems sad that people are judged on their houses. Severus was only just sorted into Slytherin and people hate him for that not more then an hour later. We met on the train and he seemed to be quite interesting. Not really happy much but not evil, or dark really" Hercules told the young werewolf. Romulus nodded, frowning, looking behind him to his brother. Remus was laughing along with his new friends. Hercules followed his gaze, frowning. Maybe...

"I think I'll try to be friends with my brother" Romulus stated suddenly. "I don't care if he's in Gryffindor. If you're being friends with Severus in Slytherin, I can try to be friends with a Gryffindor."

Hercules grinned. Hopefully Romulus and he would inspire others to become friends outside of their houses. Hopefully...well, hopefully this would stop the stereotypes - stop the likes of Voldemort and Dumbledore playing on the innocent of those with nowhere else to go.

"Would we be in trouble if we're friends with other houses?" Tracey David, twin sister of Abbie, asked from Romulus' other side. Hercules leaned around Romulus to look at her, suddenly remembering a story his great-grandfather had once told him.

"My great-grandfather once told me about the story when Hogwarts was first built" he begun and felt eyes drawn to him just by that sentence. "Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin were friends since childhood, with their parents and family living in the same village until it was burned down by muggles looking for witches and wizards. Godric and Salazar were two of the few who survived. They ran together and learned together to become teachers and specialists in what they loved. For Godric it was defence, not just against the dark arts but against anything, and for Salazar it was potions of any type. They met Helga Hufflepuff and Rowena Ravenclaw years later, close to their 40s, and it was only then, by the thoughts of the women, that Hogwarts begun. The four living together in the school until each of them died, with each of them marrying - Helga to Samuel Slytherin and Rowena to Gregory Gryffindor. Godric and Salazar, however, never married, to the point where some believed that the two were involved."

"That's just a bed story!" a fourth year shouted down the table.

"Stories always have some beginning!" Hercules had opened his mouth to say just that when the shout came from a third year. He smiled, sitting back slightly as the discussion begun, happy with his work. Finally, after a year of working, the first seeds were planted. Now all he needed to do was watch and help them grow.

LJ wasn't too sure what to think of the people around him. The Hufflepuff students seemed nice enough but they just seemed...he wasn't really sure. Too nice? Almost lazy really in the way they used magic, but he guessed that could be the house-elves his brother had told him about. He didn't know half of their names but everyone was touching him - clapping his back, patting his shoulder, shaking hands, ruffling his hair and even one girl hugged him. LJ didn't have a clue what to do with it all.

"Are...is it always like this?" He asked the prefect near the first years softly. The prefect 'hummed', turning to him.

"You mean, always touching?" The older girl asked. LJ nodded and she smiled, nodding back. "Every house has their strange parts. We always touch, in greeting, anger or even hate. You'll get used to it!" And she turned back to her friends, laughing hard at something just said.

LJ frowned, looking away. Somehow he doubted that he really would ever be truly comfortable with some stranger, or even someone knew, touching him suddenly. He avoided any type of contact with his brother, even just verbal ones, and the only person older then him who he hugged, at least since his mother had died, was his father. His other brothers and sisters...

"Hey! Stop being sad!" A fry hit him on the forehead just as the shout came. LJ jumped up, eyes wide and ready to attack. The two first years who 'attacked' him stared. LJ growled at them, sounded scarily like a animal, sitting again.

"Don't do that" he snapped to them. The other boys nodded, looking like they had just been told off by their parents. He glanced around quickly, keeping his eyes down until he was sure no one had noticed what happened. No one had.

"Damn it" LJ whispered to himself, clenching his fist under the table. He thought he had a hold on his reflexes. Obviously not. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. If only he could meditate - that always helped.

If only he could find out what was happening to him. Now that would be better - to understand. Oh he had tried but it was like hitting a wall, over and over again; a very hard wall at that, sometimes literally. He rubbed his arm in remembrance, scowling.

The food disappeared and LJ allowed a smile thinking, mistakingly, that they would be soon going for bed. A moment after the thought had disappeared from his mind then deserts appeared in place of the dinner. LJ sighed but picked up a bowl of pumpkin ice cream.

Oh well. He might as well enjoy it, hugs or no hugs. And the ice cream helped.

Lily Evens had never been too sure of new places, but Hogwarts was wonderful, even she had to agree. The building was like something out of a magic storybook, and Lily had to giggle with the silliness of half that statement being correct. The food was delicious and everything...well, it blew her over really.

The only she hated was that she didn't have any friends. True she and Severus, who was all the way on the other side of the hall with the Slytherins, had been friends once but now she wasn't too sure. They had promised each other they'd find the other on Platform 9 3/4 but they hadn't. Lily had looked but Severus had seemed to disappeared. She even went so far as sorting out Radford and Paloma but the elder Snape children hadn't known any more then Lily to where Severus was.

Then she had seen him at the sorting, next to two other boys, laughing and talking more freely then they ever had. It made her jealous; it made her envious; it made her angry. Severus was her friend! He had promised, always, to be friends - to even be friends when they were in their eighties and old.

It made her sad too. She didn't have anyone else. No one to talk with, no one to read with or just to spend time with. That had been all Severus and now, at Hogwarts, she didn't know anyone to be able to do that with them. She had never tried making friends before!

It made her smile though, watching Severus smile. He looked so happy! He looked his age, not like an adult in a young body, like her mum called him. She was glad for him, even though it hurt to think that, but she really was glad that he had found friends. Even if she hadn't.

"Hey! What about you? What are you looking forward to?" A hand on her arm was the only sign that the boy was speaking to her. She blinking, stared at him. He was cute, in the way most boys she thought about at the moment, except Severus, with soft brown hair and brown eyes to match.

"I guess..." She bit her lip, thinking. What was looking forward to? "Understand, I think. Getting to know this world and everything about it."

The boy grinned at her. "You'll love the library! Hey - Remus - I found you a study partner!"

The blonde haired boy with amber eyes scowled playfully at the boy next to Lily, flicking a pea at them. The boy laughed and Lily smiled, feeling more comfortable as she flicked the pea back, watching it land in Remus' soap. Remus stared at it for a moment, as did those around him, and suddenly they were laughing. Lily grinned.

"Good shot!" The boy next to her cheered, patting her shoulder. Lily grin widened even more.

Maybe she would find friends in this strange, magical place after all.

 **If you could just leave a comment again, just let me know what you think, please.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Here's the next chapter. I had planned to the whole of their first week but as it turned out, my brain and writing didn't want to do that, so here's most of their first day. Don't worry - I'm not planning on doing every single day of their Hogwarts life!**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter Three

LJ woke to tipping on the window of the boys dormitories, light pouring in through it, his father's owl flapping in front of it.

"Get your owl" one of the other boys muttered, still half asleep. LJ did as he was told, allowing the owl to sit apon his shoulder as he read the letter.

My dear Leroy,

Felix sent a letter last night, about the sorting. Don't worry, my boy, I'm not upset that you didn't get into Gryffindor. Your great-uncle was also a Hufflepuff and many of our family have been in other houses as well. Though, being so unlike Felix, I'm not surprised you didn't get into Gryffindor.

Felix also told me that your hair was orange as you walking in for the sorting. Leroy, you must be careful with your powers. We have no idea what they could lead to or end as once the change stops. I don't want to lose you, son. Please, keep them a secret and stop changing your hair colour.

Keep in touch,

Dad

LJ frowned at the letter. He was happy his father hadn't...disowned him or anything, but it seemed like he was missing something. He, like anyone with at least one magical parent, had heard of people with special abilities - metamorphagus, elemental powers, those born as half creatures. They were allowed to be themselves, to show their magic off in the open, but they did have to register at the Ministry of Magic. So why couldn't LJ do that?

"Everything ok at home, Gibbs?"

LJ's head snapped up at his surname, staring at the boy in the boy next to him. He had just woken but was staring at LJ with kind eyes, as though he though LJ had gotten some bad news.

"Yeah" he lied. "Yeah, everything's fine. Just Dad telling me 'well done' for getting in Hufflepuff." He stuffed the letter in the side table by his bed, walking back to the window. His father's owl flew off as soon the window was open; LJ watching it until it was out of sight.

He needed answers and it was clear his father wasn't going to give them. He would have to search for them himself...

"Well, breakfast is in twenty minutes" the boy nearest the door told them all. "Does anyone remember the way to the Great Hall?" He was half dressed, looking completely weird with his black trousers and polished black shoes, then his pyjama white top with little space ships on it and his hair messed from sleeping. LJ snorted, looking away as he too begun to get changed.

"Didn't the prefects say something about showing us down today and tomorrow?" Another boy called. LJ frowned, thinking back. Had they? Then again, he hadn't really been listening.

"Yes! Yes, I think they did" the last boy in their group shouted, jumping from his bed. There was a 'THUD' when he landed and the others, LJ included, peered around the beds to stare at the boy who had fallen on his bum. The kid looked back at them, face bright red. LJ smirked, shaking his head as the others laughed.

"I...I mean..." The boy tried to stand but his legs were caught in his duvet cover and he fell as soon as he moved a leg, falling flat on his front, face planted on the wooden floor. LJ was sure he heard a crutch and the boy called out, pushing his face away from the hard floor.

"Get a prefect!" LJ shouted, sliding to the floor next to the other boy. His nose was bent impossibly to the right and there was blood coming from it.

"Here" LJ started at the boy who had come up behind him, hands filled with tissues. LJ grabbed a couple, pressing them softly to the boy's nose. The boy hissed, pulling away slightly but LJ kept him close, a hand on his elbow just like he had with his sisters. He dabbed slowly and softly, getting rid of most of the blood by the time the prefect ran into the room, the boy half dressed behind him.

"What happened?" The prefect demanded.

"He tripped" LJ was compelled to answer, not even fighting the pull which made him answer. "His face smashed into the floor. Looks like he broke his nose."

The prefect nodded, couching next to LJ. "Let's get you to the Hospital Wing. It looks like most of the blood is gone - good job." He flung the last comment at LJ as he helped the fallen boy to stand, making sure his legs weren't tied together and that he didn't trip again. Together they walked from the room.

LJ felt pride well up inside him, as well as a sense of...rightness. He had just done the right thing he could almost feel it. Now, if only the others would stop staring at him...

"How did you do that?"

"I just followed what you said...didn't even ask why..."

"How did you know what to do?"

"Do you think he'll be alright?"

LJ ignored the first three questions but smiled at the last one. "Yeah. Yeah, he'll be fine. Just fine."

The boys stared at him and LJ let them, ignoring them as he got ready. He couldn't explain it to himself, so why the hell would he try to explain to someone else?

The first night in Slytherin was a nightmare for Severus. Paloma an Radford had found him and chosen to, quite publicly, tell everyone that they were proud of their little brother getting into the same house as them. In the end Severus had his checks pink from pinching from Paloma and her friends, and he was almost deaf from Radford's shouting.

It also seemed that neither Paloma nor Radford had ever been straight or truthful about their family, therefore all questions went to Severus. The poor boy had run up to the boys dormitory as soon as he knew where it was, following by Caesar as the blonde haired boy stopped most of the other students from crowding Severus. He unknowing found a very good friend that night.

The morning, however, had started well. He was woken by the alarm and Thomas Nott jinxing the hell out of it. Everyone had enough time for a shower and even time to read for Severus, who had learned to always be ready quickly. He waited for the others boys, chatting with Caesar as they walked to the Great Hall just as the Ravenclaw first years came in as well, following their own prefects. Severus caught Hercules eye and smiled.

"Lewis!" Severus heard his Ravenclaw friend call out. He turned, watching Hercules. It was clear the green eyed boy was up to something. "Do you have to sit at our house tables? Can we sit with with friends from other houses?"

The prefect looked stumped at the question, as did the other prefects who had overheard. The older Ravenclaw exchanged looks between the other Ravenclaw prefect, then the two Slytherin prefects. The three others had the same dumbfounded look on their faces as Lewis did.

"There's nothing in the rules..." Lewis stated slowly, clearly thinking hard. "I guess you can sit at different tables but no one ever has."

Hercules grinned, looking over to Severus. He broke from the Ravenclaws and walked straight over to where Severus sat, sliding into the tiny spot between him and Caesar.

"Hello" Hercules smiled at Caesar, holding out a hand. "I'm Hercules Potter."

"Caesar Malfoy" Caesar smiled back, shaking the hand. "Why are you sitting here?"

"Severus and I met on the train" Hercules explained, glancing to the boy on the other side of him. "What's Slytherin like, Severus? You didn't look happy after the sorting."

"Slytherin is fine" Severus sighed at the memory of the night before. "I just...felt homesick. I was surprised by it."

Hercules nodded in that understanding why that Severus was beginning to associated with him. It was like the boy really did understand, though Severus still doubted that he really did. Not wanting to think about it any more, he changed the conversation.

"What about Ravenclaw? Did you enjoy your night with them?" Severus looked over to the other Ravenclaw students. They, along with most of the Slytherins around them, were watching Severus and Hercules closely, some even listening in he was sure.

"They're...interesting" Hercules smiled a secret smile and Severus felt compelled to ask why but stopped himself. Hercules kept that smile as the food appeared and more students flooded into the hall. LJ was clearly visible, his hair a bright red in an anger not shown on his face. Hercules stood up at the sight of the third friend, waving him over. LJ grinned, almost running to them. He dropped into the seat across from Severus, his hair going to a light blue.

"Oh thank Merlin! They're a nightmare!" He grinned at Severus and Hercules, helping himself to cereal. "They're always touching - hugs, holding hands and...arg! I don't know how much I can take of it!"

Everyone looked surprised at the annoyance coming off to little Hufflepuff. LJ let out a long breath, closing his eyes for a second. When he opened them his hair was back to normal dark brown and his eyes had stopped their change to yellow, and there was a slight smile to his lips.

"How were your nights?" He asked, as if the last couple of minutes hadn't happened. "Better then mine, I'd guess."

Severus shrugged, glaring down the table to his brother and sister. "Paloma and Radford cornered me in the common room. Made sure everyone knew I was their little brother. Apparently they haven't told anyone about family life so the questions all came to me last night. It was tiring."

"I tried to stop some of them" Caesar told them in a soft voice. The three friends looked to him. The Malfoy boy blushed slightly but went on. "Loads of students were following you up to the dorms. I made them remember it was only your first night and evening at Hogwarts. I think they'll lay off you for a few days but...not forever."

Severus nodded, looking down. "Thank you for trying Caesar." He lay his head down by his plate, making sure not to get food in his hair. "I wish they had answered those questions. Maybe..." His head snapped up, eyes bright. "Maybe I can do what they did - not answer any questions. That means when Jadzia and Eillionoir come to Hogwarts next year, they will have to answer them! Not me."

LJ and Hercules laughed at Severus' joy. The Slytherin, feeling childish, stuck his tongue out at them, causing the other two to laugh even harder. Caesar watched them with a large smile, and further down the table Lucius had a thoughtful expression on his face, as did many others.

"What are you thinking, Lucius?" Lucius' girlfriend, Narcissa Black, asked softly from her place by his side. Lucius soft grey eyes sort out her pale blue and he smiled slightly.

"I think..." He dropped his voice, glancing around quickly. "I think I have found a way to stop the war between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore. However, it all banks on those three becoming the norm..."

Felix Gibbs knew his father had written to his younger brother. Therefore he was spitting mad when not only did Leroy come into the Great Hall with his red but he went to sit at the Slytherin table, not the Hufflepuff one as he should have. That just wasn't how things worked here, at Hogwarts. Hufflepuffs weren't friends with Slytherins! They weren't even friends with Ravenclaws!

"What's wrong Felix?" His girlfriend, Macy Sapphire, asked softly, a hand on his arm.

"My...brother" he spat the word out. Oh, if he could that boy would be no brother of his. He would be alone in the world with no one, not even his Slytherin and Ravenclaw friends. "Is sitting at the Slytherin table! And -" he cut himself off. It wouldn't do anything to draw attention to his brother's hair.

"And?" Macy asked, looking over to the Slytherin table. She didn't see the horrified look on Felix's face, just three boys laughing.

"AND?" Felix's shout caught the attention of the whole hall, not that he noticed. Macy turned back to him with wide eyes, as did many of his friends. "You...you don't have a problem with a Hufflepuff being friends with a Slytherin!? They're dark! I won't let them corrupt my brother!" And with that he stood, storming over to the Slytherin table. By the time he reached them his brother had rounded the other side of the table, pressing himself against the wall, as far away from his brother as he could get.

"Leroy! Come with me!" Felix leaned over the table, reaching to grab Leroy's arm but the younger boy jumped out of the way. Felix reached again, only to find his arm grabbed by someone else and pushed back, almost toppling into the Ravenclaw table behind him. He glared, once at Leroy, then at the dark haired Ravenclaw standing by his brother and the two Slytherin boys who had their wands out, pointed at him.

"Come here Leroy! Your not allowing to be friends with these...these dark people!" Felix growled, throwing himself forward again.

"Mr. Gibbs! What do you think you are doing?"

Felix twisted around so sharply many were hardly surprised to see him topple, almost falling again, as he faced Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall, the only two teachers in the Great Hall.

"Professors! These Slytherin students won't let my brother go back to Hufflepuff table! They're keeping him here. I was just -" Felix begun to his spin lies. He stopped as Professor Dumbledore held up his hand.

"Please, Mr. Gibbs, the truth" the headmaster frowned at the boy. "Neither your brother nor his Slytherin friends have done anything but eat and laugh this morning. Why do you not want your brother to sit where he is clearly happy?"

Felix puffed up. "It just doesn't happen here, sir! Hufflepuffs stay together, and so Slytherins! They aren't meant to be friends! Leroy has to learn that!"

"Mr. Gibbs, there has been many friends between the four houses" Dumbledore held up his hands again when Felix opened his mouth. "We will talk more about this later. Come to my office after dinner. For now, please, go back to your own table and allow everyone to enjoy their breakfast."

Felix muttered angrily to himself but nodded, walking back to the Gryffindor table. Macy reached out to calm him but Felix pulled away.

"Don't touch me" he snapped, glaring at her. "If your ok with Leroy being friends with a Slytherin, then we're over." He turned back his breakfast, glaring at anyone who looked at him. In the back of his mind a dark plot begun, one which would make Leroy pay.

Breakfast finished without another incident. Time tables were handed out and before long the students were all standing for their first class.

"Swap?" Hercules asked, holding out his time table. Severus took his, LJ grabbed Severus' and Hercules took LJ's. The three grinned at each other before looking over the different time tables. They swapped again, then once more to get their own time tables back.

"So LJ and I have Defence Against the Dark Arts first" Severus stated, unneeded, but he looked nervous. "I have a free period after that..."

"What is it Severus?" Hercules frowned, reaching out a hand to Severus' arm.

"Are we going to sit together at lunch as well?" the Slytherin asked bluntly, scared eyes looking between Hercules and LJ, biting as lip as he did. "After what happened at breakfast..."

"Of course we're going to sit together!" LJ shouted in answer, glaring over to where his brother stood. The tips of his hair turned bright red in anger. "I'm not letting my brother, or anyone, chose my friends. Why don't we sit at Ravenclaw for lunch, then Hufflepuff for dinner?"

"That sounds great!" Hercules grinned at LJ for the idea. He glanced at his watch, then shouted, jumping up. "We've only got ten minutes to get to class!" He took off running, Severus and LJ laughing behind him but following.

"This way!" LJ grabbed Severus' hand, pulling them away from the crowd, up to the second floor. They both turned, waving at Hercules just as the Ravenclaw had reached the doors. "See ya at lunch!"

Hercules grinned, waving back, then he was gone, swallowed by the crowd of students. LJ ran on, still pulling Severus behind him. The Slytherin laughed.

"Do you even know where you're going?" He somehow got out as they ran up a third flight of stairs. LJ grinned back at him.

"Yep! Felix's a jerk but Dad's got a map of Hogwarts back home" they skidded to a stop outside one of the class rooms, inside which Professor Moss. "I stole Felix's first year time table last because no one's bothered to throw stuff out, and had a look at where the class rooms were. And I remembered it!" He pointed in the room and Severus laughed, grinning at the Hufflepuff.

"You, Leroy Gibbs, are very weird for a Hufflepuff" he told the other boy. LJ grinned back, hair flashing yellow.

"I know!"

Hercules didn't really know to expect from the classes at Hogwarts, but what he didn't expect was killer plants, a werewolf sitting next to him or a stupid cousin who just loved to provoke the plants, and sometimes the werewolf.

How Hercules found himself sitting next to Remus Lupin, he wasn't too sure. Well, he was. He had sat at the end of the potting table, at the top, hoping that he would be next to at least one Gryffindor that way. As it turned out the other Ravenclaws went down the side he had sat on and the Gryffindors squabbled at the door on who would sit next to 'the weird Ravenclaw'. The werewolf was the only one brave enough to do so.

"Hi" Hercules turned back into the class when Remus spoke. The werewolf held a hand out to him. "I'm Remus Lupin. My twin's in your house, Romulus."

"Hercules Potter, my cousin is in your house" Hercules smiled, making sure it seemed friendly enough. He didn't have much against the boy himself - he had heard story of Remus Lupin, the only werewolf allowed at Hogwarts - but he did have problems with werewolves themselves. It didn't help that one had killed his grandparents or that one had tried to turn him when he was three (and he still remembered it). He blinked himself away from those thoughts. "So, your the only one brave enough to sit next to me?" He raised an eyebrow. "I thought all Gryffindors were brave."

Remus blushed, looking down. "I told them you'd hear them." He shock his head, glaring to his house-mates. "I don't think it's weird or strange or evil, what you're trying to do. I just...want to fit in here."

Hercules nodded, completely understanding the double meaning that he wasn't even too sure if Remus meant or not. The werewolf frowned slightly, staring at him.

Talk begun around them, mostly about the class, and Hercules leaned in closer to Remus. "I'm sure you do. I have nothing against you, Remus, nor your brother, not even for what you are. Maybe, in time, we could be friends?" He raised his eyes, locking them Remus' widened gold orbs. The werewolf nodded after a minute, a smile on his face, just as the teachers walked into the greenhouse.

"Quiet! Quiet now!"

Hercules turned to the teacher, leaving only a wink to Remus as he begun his first lesson at Hogwarts. The werewolf smiled at the back of the Ravenclaw's head, confused but happy. He didn't know how Hercules Potter knew he was a werewolf, but he was glad one person or least didn't hold it against him or his brother.

The two lessons between breakfast and lunch passed quickly for Severus and Hercules. Defence had left Severus oddly thoughtful, which was strangely good because it gave him something to do with the hour he had afterwards, instead of nothing. Hercules, on the other hand, had found a couple of friend in Gryffindor - Remus Lupin, Frank Longbottom and Sally Ellis. While the Gryffindors were in their second class and Severus was thinking, Hercules chose to wonder the castle. He found three secret hide-outs in the hours it took for the second class to be done.

Lunch, as agreed, was at the Ravenclaw table. Hercules arrived late and therefore quite surprised to see, not only Severus and LJ sitting and chatting the Ravenclaws, but Remus, Sally and another Gryffindor girl with long dark red hair.

"Hercules!" LJ grinned, waving to him. Sally grinned as well, sliding over to allow Hercules to slip between her and the unknown Gryffindor.

"I'm Lily Evens" the unknown girl stuck out her hand. "Severus and I used to be friends, and when Remus said he was thinking about eating here..."

"Nice to meet you, Lily Evens" Hercules grinned to the girl he knew would become his great-great-grandmother, shaking her hand. "It's nice to get another friends from Gryffindor, and a friend of Severus'."

Lily smiled shyly back. "Remus said you didn't seem like our age. I can see what he means now. You're...you're like an adult sometimes, the way you talk, and sometimes just...how you are."

Hercules frowned but struggled it off. He would think more about it later. "Well, I am who I am. I can't change that, Lily. Would you like some salad?"

Lily's eyes snapped at the large bowl which had suddenly appeared in his hands. She nodded slowly, staring at the greens. It didn't look like any type of salad she had ever seen before. Maybe a wizard salad... The thought was to strange to her.

"So, what was History of Magic like?" Severus asked, picking at his sandwich, looking between the Gryffindors and Hufflepuff sitting with them. All of them groaned, shaking their heads. Severus frowned, exchanging looks with Hercules. The Ravenclaw stared back, just as confused. "What's wrong?"

"History" Remus shock his head. "It's not...I wouldn't even call it a class."

"It's not" LJ agreed. "It's impossible to stay away!"

"Professor Binns just went on, and on, and on, about goblin wars" Sally explained at the still confused looks on Severus and Hercules' faces. "It's all he talked about for the whole hour!"

"And he's voice!" Lily added. "It's like a fog horn or something. Low and droning, on and on. It's...well, it's impossible!"

"Really?" Hercules raised both eyebrows. "Why would they keep him around if he's really that bad?"

"They can't get rid of him" a second year close to them to the first years. "The story goes that one day the professor fell asleep in front of the fire in the Staff Room and woke up the next morning. He went off to class but left his body behind. I'd hate to have been in that class - but apparently it's impossible to get rid of him, just like it's impossible to get rid of any of the ghosts here."

"Hmm" a strange look come over LJ's face. The second went back to his own friends and the others turned to the Hufflepuff. LJ's eyes had glossed over, his skin taking on a purple look, making him look very odd. "Impossible..."

"What are you thinking LJ?" Severus asked warily. When the smaller boy didn't answer Severus snapped his figures under the other's nose at the same time Remus had reached back, tapping the back of LJ's head hard enough to move the boy's head forward. LJ blinked, his spine straightening as he turned to glare at Remus.

"What the hell was that?"

"You weren't listening" Remus grinned. "My granddad does it to me and it works, so I though..."

"Well, it did seem to work" Hercules pointed over, holding back laugher. LJ huffed, grumbling about annoying Gryffindors as he went back to his food. That set Hercules off and soon the whole group of first years, LJ included, would laughing so hard a couple of them had fallen onto the floor.

From the Staff Table Minerva McGonagall smiled happily, hiding it behind her goblet, and nodded happily to the group. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the sharp angry look of Albus Dumbledore, because no matter what the man had said that morning, Minerva knew that he too had fallen to the stereotypes of the wizarding world.

 **Please leave a comment, or any questions you have. I'd love to hear what people think!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Here's the next chapter. I know it's only been five days but it feels like so long since I posted a chapter. I apologise to those following this story for not posting sooner! College work and all that horrible stuff but it has to been done.**

 **Enjoy the chapter anyway!**

Chapter Four

The lessons after lunch went as quickly as the lessons before. LJ and Hercules, along with the rest of their houses, headed to a double Potions class while Severus, the other Slytherins, and the Gryffindors, when to Transfiguration, followed by Charms.

"What were you thinking about, at lunch?" Hercules asked his Hufflepuff friend as they walked. LJ turned to him with a completely innocent look, so completely fake. Hercules just raised his eyebrows at his friend and LJ pouted, smiling slightly.

"That teacher should have died years ago. We shouldn't have to pay because a guy just won't stop hanging to life" LJ explained with shrug. "I..." He bit his lip, looking around and suddenly nervous. He bit his lip, turning back to Hercules and dropped his voice as he went on. "I feel I could do this. I could get rid of him."

Hercules stared at the smaller boy, also lowering his voice as they continued. "Get rid? As in, send his ghost to the light? How...?"

"I don't know" LJ whispered back, eyes suddenly frightened and almost impossibly big. "I just...like this morning. Another guy in my dorm fell on his face and I just knew his nose was broken, even before I saw the blood. I shouted at the others to get a prefect, then helped the other boy to get the blood off his face. And they followed the order! I have no idea how I knew, or how I used that voice to get them to listen...but it's like that! I just know I can send Professor Binns to where he's meant to be."

Hercules 'hummed', looking the other boy over. LJ stared back with his wide eyes.

"Hercules...can you help me? I have no idea what's happening to me" the Hufflepuff took a deep breath. "The hair, my skin...there's been a couple of other things but I have no idea what's going on. I think my dad knows but he won't tell me anything. Will you help me find out?"

Hercules didn't even think of his answer. He smiled to the boy and drew him into a hug, a surprise one since it felt right to both of them, and LJ didn't even flinch or pull away. "Of course I'll help you. We're friends, right? And that's what friends do."

LJ let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, almost collapsing into Hercules as he closed his eyes. A weight seemed to disappear from his shoulders and the relief that came with it...

"Come on now" Hercules muttered, speaking right in LJ's ear. The Hufflepuff blushed slightly, pulling away.

"Sorry" he muttered, looking down. Hercules smiled, tapping the back of LJ's head and the two smiled at the memory of what had just happened. LJ blinked, took a deep breath and nodded, pulling himself up again. Hercules nodded to him and together they begun walking again.

By the time they had reached the Potions class room the two were all grins again, just as two friends, two eleven year olds, should be.

Severus felt uncomfortable sitting next to his old friend as they waited for the bell to go, signalling the start of the lesson. He kept pulling and pushing at his robes, glancing every now and then at Lily. The redhead looked angry and Severus had no idea what to say to her.

"Why didn't you look for me on the Hogwarts Express?" Lily finally blurted out, glaring daggers at Severus. The Slytherin winced, looking away.

"I...I met Hercules and LJ. I...I thought you might want time...to find your own friends?" He looked hopefully at Lily. "And I did look for you but you weren't in any of the compartments in the first year carriage. I didn't think there would be much point to look for you the whole train journey."

Lily kept her glare up for a couple of more minutes before her look softened and she smiled. Severus glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes, wary still.

"Oh...I didn't think Severus" she shock her head. "Of course we were find other friends. I guess, after only being friends with you for so long, I just...didn't think."

Severus nodded, smiling back. "I understand. I didn't really think I would find other friends here. Hercules and LJ though..."

Lily smiled at the look of pure joy which crossed Severus' face. "I'm glad you have found people you can be yourself with Severus, even if it isn't me. We can still be friends, though, can't we?"

"Of course" Severus' smile brightened. "I think Hercules would come and drag you back if you walked out of our little group now. He seems to like you."

Lily grinned at the thought, a small blush on her checks. She opened her mouth to say something else, just as the bell went and the doors to their class room appeared, Professor McGonagall walking quickly in, and the lesson begun.

Albus Dumbledore had no idea what to think of Hercules Potter and his friends, Severus Snape and Leroy Gibbs. The Potter boy, he knew, was a cousin of James Potter in Gryffindor, and had once had a scare with dragon-pocks which had already killed around a year ago, but somehow the boy had survived. Apart from that, there wasn't much Dumbledore knew.

The boy was odd. He had friends in all four Hogwarts houses, unheard of since the time of the Founders, and somehow had even made a Slytherin and a Gryffindor sit at the same table, laugh, talk and joke together as though they were in the same house. Then there was his teachers.

Professor Moss loved the boy, had even said that the boy seemed to be a protégé of not just practical defence but also of defence and magical theory. Hercules had answered questions Evan thought impossible to know at eleven years old. The professor had even told Albus that if the boy continued as he had in his first lesson, Evan won't be able to teach him come third year. And after looking over Hercules' class work, Albus had to agree.

Professor Slughorn had loved the boy as well. He was sure that Hercules would be the youngest member of the Slug Club, and he even allowed the boy to use magic in his second class. It was hardly ever heard of a first year using magic in potions, definitely not in his second year. He, like Moss, was sure that he wouldn't be able to teach the kid in a few years.

"Hercules Potter is so far ahead, Albus" Evan told him in their staff meeting after dinner. "If he stays in his year's class he might as well be a teacher's assistant instead of a student."

"A student has never jumped a level, Evan" Albus told the young defence teacher. "I will not let Hercules be the first, no matter how good he is. There is a reason no magical school has less then seven years of schooling."

Evan huffed, folding his arms. "Then at least let me teach him. On my own. I'll take him on as an apparatus once he knows the seventh year curriculum. It will allow him to stay at Hogwarts for the wanted seven years."

"As will I" Horace Slughorn jumped into the conversation, his eyes bright. "Hercules Potter has too much potential for it to be wasted."

Albus looked between the two men, trying to see fault in their statements. He had no right to stop any of his teachers taking apparatuses though, as long as the apparatus agreed to it.

"Allow Hercules time to settle in first" he told his teachers. "Then suggest this to him. He should be allowed some time to become familiar with the school and the other subjects before he is thrust into anything else."

Evan and Horace nodded, sitting back in their seats, both happy and proud to have won.

"Is there anything else?" Albus looked around at the other teachers. "Has there been any problems with the students? Problems between students?"

The teachers glanced between each other, none of them sure how to bring up what they all wanted to talk about.

"Albus" Minerva McGonagall said finally, leaning forward. "A lot has already changed, just from Mr. Potter and his friends. I have heard the Ravenclaws talking about a story Hercules told them over dinner of the sorting night. It was the story of the Founders and how Hogwarts was built. Mostly he spoke of the friendship and rumour of Godric Gryffindor and Salazar Slytherin being...lovers."

Albus nodded, waiting for her to go on but Minerva sat back. He looked around the rest of the students.

"When I walked into class today there was only one table on which a pair from the same house sat" Filius Flitwick spoke up. "It was a Gryffindor and Slytherin class and for once there were no arguments. The students even helped each other if their partner was stuck, no matter the house. It was quite surprising."

Albus' eyebrows went up. How had everything gotten so out of control so fast? He needed to stop this but not to be so obvious. Maybe he could talk with Hercules...or maybe his friends...?

"I want to talk with you about young Hercules' friends" Professor Moss said suddenly into the silence which had appeared after they spoke of the other years. Albus' eyebrows went up, looking over to the other teacher.

"Severus Snape understands the theory of defence" Evan explained. "Leroy Gibbs is the opposite of him, understanding the practical. In time..."

"Evan" Albus made up his mind quickly. "If you wish to take on an appearance or three, you need only tell me, however there is nothing I can do to stop you. If you, any of you" he added to the whole room, "believe that any students could become appearances, do not hesitate to approach both them and myself. However, please do not take the whole of the student body as it would therefore be impossible to teach anyone." His eyes twinkled at the end, smiling to his teachers. The teachers smiled back, nodding in understanding.

"Is there anything else of consequence?" Albus asked the room. The professors shock their heads and Albus nodded, ending the meeting.

The second day at Hogwarts came quickly for everyone. It seemed that he had just fallen asleep when Romulus Lupin was shaken awake by Kingsley Shacklebolt with Hercules standing at the end of his bed.

"What?" Romulus grumbled, hiding his face half in his pillow but kept his eyes on the other two boys.

"You were shouting" Kingsley told him softly, dark eyes concerned, a hand touching Romulus' wrist softly. Romulus blushed slightly, both at the words and the touch, looking away.

"I'm sorry" he muttered, choosing to look at Hercules instead of Kingsley. "Did I wake anyone?"

"No" Hercules smiled, finishing dressing. He glanced up at Romulus and Kingsley from where he had sat on the ground, his eyes lingering slightly on Kingsley. "I'll leave you. Kingsley..."

The dark skinned Ravenclaw nodded at Hercules just as the other boy turned, walking from the dorm, leaving an awkward silence behind him. Romulus turned at once to the only other boy in the dorms. Kingsley stared back at him, a strange look in his dark eyes.

"Is everything already?" Romulus asked finally when it became apparent that Kingsley wasn't going to say anything.

"I need to talk with you about something" Kingsley stated in his slow voice. If it had been anyone else Romulus would be sure they had blurted the sentence, but not Kingsley it seemed. "It is very important. However I...I have no idea how to..."

Romulus frowned, sitting up. He pulled in Kingsley's hand, making the other sit facing him on the bed. Neither of them noticed as the nearest alarm went off, signalling the beginning of classes that day.

"My family" Kingsley begun even slower then normal, a slight show of nervous in his eyes. "My family is quite different. The Shacklebolts are...well, none of completely sure what the name of our creature side is, but it is who we are. One of the many...gifts" he almost sneered the word, "it gives us is to know, at first glance, who we will love for the rest of our lives."

"And I am yours" Romulus guessed. Kingsley looked slightly surprised but nodded, almost reluctant to agree to the statement. Romulus took a deep breath and nodded as well, closing his eyes for a moment.

"Ok" he muttered. "I...I don't really know what to say King...we're eleven..."

A shadow of a smile crossed the other boy's face. "It doesn't mean we have to..." His eyes dropped as Kingsley fiddled with the blanket, a blush covering his neck. "It normally happens around the age of sixteen, when people begin to...find other relationships. If...the other person is another creature though...Da warned me that it may happen, knowing pure bloods. He said most of them has married into creature families to keep their families 'pure'."

Romulus glanced down, blinking tears away. It would be so much easier if that had been the case for he and his brother.

"I'm a werewolf" he admitted in a whisper. Kingsley leaned closer to hear him and, to Romulus' surprise, the other boy didn't pull away after hearing what he had told him.

"Oh" the other ad slightly muttered, then pulled Romulus into a soft hug. "I am sorry, then, to bring that up. One of my cousins is also a werewolf but he lives in America, so he goes to school there. Maybe I could introduce you?"

Romulus pulled away, enough to see Kingsley's face and smiled to the calmer boy, nodding. "Thank you." He curled back into Kingsley's chest, finally allowing the tears he had never been able to shed since he had been bitten to surface, in the safety of his mate's arms.

Breakfast had been quiet. Hercules found his friends sitting at the Ravenclaw table, LJ oddly enough missing.

"Good morning" he told them, even though he was frowning at the thought of the missing Hufflepuff. He received a few 'good mornings' back from those awake enough. Almost at once he turned to Severus. "Do you know where LJ is?"

The Slytherin shock his head. Together they turned to the Hufflepuff table, looking between the other students for their friend, worry growing when they didn't find him.

"Oh!" Lily blushed. "He said something about looking for the library, even though it's only the second day. I think he said something about looking something up."

"Oh" Hercules muttered with a sigh. He grabbed a napkin and two pieces of toast, then another for himself. "I better go give him some breakfast. See you in class." He turned, almost running from the hall. Behind him his friends frowned at his back, almost all of them turning to Severus. The Slytherin stared back at them, a blush slowly crawling its way up his neck.

"Yes?" He asked them as calmly as possible, eyebrows raised. "I don't know what's going on. Why don't you ask them yourself?"

Remus turned away from a grumble, Lily and Sally shrugged and went back to talking with each other. Severus looked down at his food with a frown. He had only known LJ and Hercules for a day but it already hurt that they were leaving him out of things, and it annoyed him that he was brave enough to ask them about it.

Hercules found LJ surrounded by two stacks of books, the young Hufflepuff between them with yet another book open in front of him, a cup of what smelled like coffee by it. Hercules raised his eyebrows, surprised at the drink allowed in the library. He had heard that the librarian was quite strict about rules, especially about food and drink in the library and close to the books.

"LJ" Hercules called as he neared the boy. LJ's head snapped up and he stared, eyes wide like a child caught doing something he shouldn't. Hercules smiled, sliding into the seat next to his friend. "What are you up to?"

"Oh...I'm..." LJ blushed. "I'm looking up about..." He stopped speaking, clearly words not working for him, and pushed the book in front of him towards Hercules. His eyes landed on the napkin and they widened once again. "Food?"

Hercules smiled, handing the napkin to LJ before taking the book, looking the page over. He looked up at LJ with soft eyes. "You've been looking up your powers?"

LJ nodded, stuffing the rest of the toast in his mouth in his hurry to explain. "I tried to look for a book on all the powers together but there's nothing, so I looked them up individually. There's a couple I can't find but here's the ones I could!" He shoved a notebook in front of the book, it covered in LJ's writing and notes taken from different books. "These ones, in the little stars, seem easy enough to control. Madam Price already said that as long as I don't wrack the books, I can take a couple out at a time."

Hercules smiled at the smaller boy's obvious joy. He glanced at the list again, frowning when he turned to page, looking around quickly before leaning closer to LJ. "LJ, you can't let anyone know about these." He pointed the ones out. "If anyone in England was to ever find out...LJ, you would be thrown in prison, no questions asked. You must keep this silent."

"What?" LJ's face and hair went a pale white. Had it been for any other reason, Hercules would have laughed. However he nodded. "No questions asked, at all? Not even to see if..."

"No even anything" Hercules agreed seriously. "Dad once told me about a family friend who was found with one of these powers. The day after he first used his powers - only to stop a fire which would have killed his nephew - the Aurors appeared at his doorstep and took him away. As far as anyone knows, he's still in Azkaban."

LJ's eyes,, if possible, went even wider. He too glanced around and lowered his voice. "Why? He saved a life. Why should it care how he did it?"

"It's classed as Dark magic. England hates anything classed as 'Dark'" Hercules explained with a shrug, closing his eyes for a moment as he remembered his promise. "LJ, if you want to learn these, you will never be able to return to England, at least not until, if, the laws change."

LJ nodded seriously, turning the page of his notebook back to the information he could find. "What about these? Do you think you could help me to learn how to control them?"

Hercules glanced down the list with a half frown, half smile. "Yeah, I can help you. But I think Severus would be able to help more with a couple of these. You should ask him."

LJ bit his lip, nodding though. "I just...don't want a large group to know this. You saw how my brother reacted... Can you be there when I speak with him?"

Hercules made the mistake of looking at LJ, who had widened his eyes to make impossible puppy dog eyes at him, making the boy look adorable. He smiled, reaching over to stroke LJ's check softly. The cute puppy look disappeared and Hercules found himself with an armful of LJ for the second time in as many days. He smiled, hugging LJ close, resting his head on the now-happy soft blue hair, closing his eyes for a moment, simply enjoying the moment.

Severus found Hercules and LJ in the library ten minutes into their free period of first hour. The Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff looked up as soon as their third sat, both closing their books and stood, waving Severus to the back of the library where no one sat. The three sat behind a curtain, covered from view of the rest of the library, allowing them to speak softly as well.

"What's wrong?" Severus asked at once, eyes narrowed at his two friends. "Is this about...your powers, LJ?"

LJ's eyes went wide, looking between Hercules and Severus, just in time to see Hercules nod and Severus to sit next with a nod, simply waiting for the explanation he knew would come. Hercules sat back as well, nodding to LJ. The Hufflepuff took a deep breath, nodded once and begun his story.

"The powers started to appear when I was six. Felix was eleven, just going off to Hogwarts for the first time. Dad sent him with a list of what power I'd shown by then. A letter came back from Felix days letter. It said..." LJ looked down, curling up into a ball with his knees to his chest before going on. "It said that all he could find told him...told him that I would kill and hurt people, with the amount and types of powers I have. We never spoke about it again, until I got my own Hogwarts letter. Dad made me promise I'd never use my powers; not even to change my hair colour. That's why Felix was so angry with me, yesterday. Dad also told me never to look into my powers, never to try to control them, just to ignore them. I guess that's what he's been trying to do."

"But you didn't follow any of that" Severus pointed out. LJ nodded, sliding the book he had brought with him over to Severus, notebook on top of it.

"That's all I could find" LJ whispered. "The others...Herc says they're Dark and if I was to use them here..."

Severus nodded in understanding, looking over the notebook first, then the big book under it. His eyebrows shot to his hairline and his eyes widened, snapping to Hercules and LJ when he was halfway down the page.

"The Mark of Justice? That's...impossible" he whispered the last bit, reading more. He shock his head when he looked back up. "It's a legend, an almost lost one at that...do you really have the Mark?" He asked the last question to LJ. The Hufflepuff shock his head.

"It says Justice chooses the person, marking them with the Mark on their fourteenth birthday, but that those who will be chosen will have some, if not all, of those powers" LJ answered. "I remember Dad talking about it once, when I was younger. Talking with Mum. Felix had just passed his fourteenth birthday and I think Dad was upset the Mark didn't appear on him."

"You seem...calm about this" Severus bit his lip, looking back down at the book. "All this talks about is the powers, not what the person has to do, why they're chosen...how did you get this book anyway? Justice and all of the old gods and goddesses are considered Dark by the Ministry of Magic."

"It appeared" Hercules frowned deeply at the book as he spoke. "LJ had just wished to understand his powers better, stating that exactly, and it appeared on the bench. There was no powder or light, as though it had always been there."

"Strange" Severus muttered, glancing at LJ. "Maybe Justice wants His chosen to understand the powers?"

LJ shrugged, as did Hercules. Severus frowned, placing the book carefully down on the table between them. He leaned forward, figures linked together, eyes lost in thoughts. Hercules and LJ let him be, both deep in their own thoughts.

"There's a rumour" Severus suddenly said, bringing Hercules and LJ back to the present. "That the Prince family, my mother's family, are descendants of the Gi vampi clan. Though it has never happened in generations my mother believes that our family could become vampi if we are to find our soul mates. She told me that it was once said that the Gi clan was one of the last natural-born creature clan, though they were hunted for so long that the descendants become just like the muggles and magical they lived around. It is believed that is why we don't change anymore."

Severus looked up, blushing slightly when he found both Hercules and LJ's interested but confused eyes on him. He looked back down.

"As we were talking about LJ's family history, I thought I would tell you about mine" he muttered softly. "From the way my mother talks, it could really happen. Just in case..."

The other boys nodded. After a moment LJ and Severus exchanged looks, then stared at Hercules. The Ravenclaw got the message and sighed, smiling slightly as he thought, also leaning forward on the table, making their three elbows touch.

"The Potter family, as far as I know, is quite normal at wizarding standards" he begun with a frown, thinking quickly. Should he tell them? "My parents have never told me of any special powers within my family, nor any creatures we married into, though I'm sure there are some, somewhere in the family tree." He smirked as Severus snorted and LJ laughed softly. "However, about myself...my great-grandfather would tell me of powers he could feel, growing inside of me, much like his own, yet he never explained what they were. His own powers, I know, included fire elemental and flight, only because I saw him do them. He used to say that we were very similar...had he been quite a few years younger, or I older, we could have been twins! We ever had the same hobbies, likes of food and sport, dislikes. The stories he would tell, of his childhood...I wished I could live it with him! One story he told me...it was from when he was just eighteen...he and two of his friends..." Hercules suddenly went off, frowning but he continued. "They walked in a forest, close together, at peace he would say, finally at peace. A clearing was ahead, filled with burned trees, and in the middle of the clearing, sat a small stone-like object. My great-grandfather would stop the story then, showing me the same stone he spoke of, and he would smile as he put on the table we sat at, and he would laugh." Hercules smiled at the memory. "He would shake his head, speaking 'Such a small stone, you would never know it could change so many lives.' He never told me what he meant, but on my ninth birthday he gave me the stone. He told me it would protect me, when the time was right, and that it would show me the way. Since then I always kept it with me."

Severus smiled, recognising the look in Hercules' eyes. He reached over, placing a hand over Hercules' cupped ones on the table. LJ smiled as well, added his own hand to the pile.

"You loved him quite a lot, then" Severus muttered. Hercules nodded.

"By blood he was my great-grandfather but, in every other way, he was my father, my younger and older brother, my friend and my study and work partner, all rolled into one" he answered with a smile. "I think I'll always miss him, no matter what people say about grief being healed by time."

"What happened to him?" LJ asked softly. Hercules froze and at once both other boys knew it was the wrong question to ask. LJ grabbed at Hercules' hands, pulling the Ravenclaw from unwanted memories, wide green eyes staring at LJ.

"He...he was shot...protecting me" Hercules breathed, closing his eyes tightly. His friends moved closer, each wrapping their arms around the one normally so strong, allowing him to cry for the man he had never fully mourned. The three sat in silence until Hercules' tears run out, yet still none of them spoke and the silence was comfortable.

"There's something...something very important..." Hercules struggled for the correct words for a moment before LJ placed a figure to his lips and Severus hugged him even tighter.

"You aren't ready" the Hufflepuff muttered. "I know we're not ready to hear whatever you have to say. We won't be for a few years...but we will be, in time. And we'll be waiting for then."

"You won't be alone Hercules" Severus agreed. He may not have any special powers, or knowledge, but he understood that something important was happening. He could feel it in his bones, he was darned if he wasn't going to promise to be around, and close, when this played out; he would be close enough to help his friends, no matter what. "You'll never be alone."

For the first time since he had been sent back in time, Hercules felt at home, and he believed what his friends told him. Still an annoying, unsure part of him had to ask, "Truly?"

"Truly. We'll always be here, with you" LJ smiled across to Severus, tightening his arms around Hercules as he did so. The Ravenclaw hugged both of them back as Severus nodded in agreement.

"Always."

 **Could you guys leave a comment please? Do you think things seem to moving too fast? Are they acting older then eleven? Ignore Hercules and Severus with that, I think they're meant to act older, with everything they've been though. Anyway, anything you'd like to know, just ask!**


	6. Chapter 6

**At the moment it's half term for me, so I'm hoping to get quite a few chapters posted during this week. Hoping they'll all be up to standard!**

 **So, here ya go! Next chapter!**

Chapter Five

The bell for the second lesson came too quickly for the liking of the first years. Before long Hercules found himself surrounded by the rest of his house and the Gryffindors, waiting for their Transfiguration lesson to begin, while Severus and LJ stood outside in the warm for Herbology.

"How did everything go with Romulus?" Hercules asked Kingsley softly as they waited, finding himself standing next to the darker skinned Ravenclaw. Kingsley gave him a smile, his eyes soft at the mention of the boy he was fated to be with.

"He was surprisingly understanding" Kingsley told him. "He was nothing like Da said some are. He also told me...why it happened so soon."

Hercules nodded in understanding. They both glanced over to where Romulus stood, his back to them as he talked with his brother and a couple of other Gryffindors. Close by Hercules' cousin watched the group with narrowed eyes, as did the boy next to him - Sirius Black if Hercules remembered correctly.

"I'm happy for you, Kingsley" Hercules smiled to the boy by his side. "He seems like quite a nice person, his brother too."

Kingsley blushed, ducking his head as he did. A wicked smile crossed his lips as he looked back up.

"So do Severus and your Hufflepuff friend, LJ" he said pointedly. Hercules scowled at him, a faint blush appearing on his checks as well as he looked away. Kingsley chuckled softly. Thankfully, for Hercules at least, the doors opened at that moment and the class begun.

James Potter didn't like what his cousin was doing. Then again, he hadn't seen his cousin for years, and the last time, from what he could remember, there had been a large argument between their two fathers, ending with Hercules' father storming out of the house with Hercules on his hip. From what his father told him about his uncle, James could tell that the two hadn't gotten along for ages, probably since their childhood if he remembered the stories correctly.

Still, no matter what his father had to say, James didn't like Hercules, nor anything the Ravenclaw had done since he had seen him at the sorting.

Hercules was a Ravenclaw. All Potters had been in Gryffindor since the Founders, and Hercules being in Gryffindor...

Ravenclaws, like all the other houses, were meant to stay together. That's what his father had told him - that's what he had learned growing up. It had completely shocked him to see Hercules talking and laughing with people from not just Ravenclaw but Gryffindor, Slytherin and Hufflepuff. He and his friends were even sitting at different tables in each meal; had sat next to each other in classes, and it didn't take any time to notice that it wasn't just Hercules himself who was doing that. The second class James had been in, he had found himself and Sirius the only two sitting next to someone of their own house. Even Remus - who James had just begun to think of as a good friend - had sat next to Hercules in the first lesson, then a Hufflepuff in the second lesson! And at that moment his 'good' friend was chatting away with a group of Ravenclaws and a couple of Gryffindors.

"I thought your dad said all Ravenclaws were evil and helped Slytherins" Sirius muttered as they watched the group. "It doesn't look like they're helping anyone. They're taking about lunch, and where they'll sit!"

James scowled darkly, glaring at Sirius. The Black heir stared back, not a bit afraid. "My dad's not wrong! Ravenclaws are just as bad as Slytherins, no matter how they seem, my cousin included! They're evil and I'm not having anything to do with them. You shouldn't either! Nor should Remus!" He glared over at the group, raising his voice as he finished his rant. Remus glared right back, as did everyone else, and James jumped back, surprising at the power in each stare.

"James...you saw what happened to Felix Gibbs" Sirius muttered, glancing between his friend, his brother in all but blood, and the group of two houses. "Maybe we should...just get to know them?"

"No!" The way James looked at him, it was almost as if Sirius had suggested for him to stick needles into his eyes and to keep them there. There was so much pain in that single word, it caused Sirius to turn from his fellow Gryffindor, walking away to stand closer to James' cousin and the dark skinned Ravenclaw who stood with him.

Clearly there was nothing that would change James' mind, but Sirius still held out hope that in time...

Transfiguration was the last thing on Sirius Black's mind as he set in the class, leaning forward with this elbows on the desk and his chin resting on his fists, half listening to Professor McGonagall was she spoke of turning a stick into a needle. It was one of the things they would be tested on, and for the first time, Sirius was glad that his parents had already taught him the first part of first year. It allowed him to think.

He wasn't too sure what to think, though. He had grown up with parents who followed and believed in only the Dark Lord, and the rest of his family weren't any different. As he had grown he found himself spending more and more time alone in his room, more often then not surrounded by books. That was, until to met James Potter.

James had everything Sirius wished he could have. He had parents who loved him just for being himself; siblings who looked up to him with love that any younger sibling had and thoughts to become like their older brother. He had friends and family always around him, and Sirius was lucky enough to be one of those friends.

James was Light too, as was his whole family. They followed Dumbledore just as much as Sirius' own parents followed the Voldemort. It allowed Sirius an out - time away from his family, whenever he needed it, and Sirius found that he needed it a lot more then he thought. Most of the year before Hogwarts he had found himself at the Potters, even living there for three months before September.

Now, though, he wasn't too sure what to do. He had always liked the Light slightly because it wasn't the Dark, as childish and stupid as he realised that was. Looking at the Potter cousins, so different from each other, he didn't know what to do. James, who he had been friends with for years yet had never spoke about his cousin; Hercules who he only knew the name of, but seemed to be doing more in the magical world then Voldemort or Dumbledore had ever, and in such a small enough of time already!

"Mr. Black!"

Sirius jumped, staring at Professor McGonagall with wide eyes. The Head of Gryffindor stood in front of his desk, hands on her hips and a very angry look on her face.

"Mr. Black, listen when you are in class. Free periods, such as the one you had last lesson, are for thinking. Now, answer this question -"

Sirius answered the question with an easy smile, nodding to himself as he made a decision. He would talk with Remus at lunch. Though he probably should pay attention for the rest of the lesson, least Dragon McGonagall caught him thinking again.

Herbology was boring to Severus. With a Potion Master as a mother, even though she hadn't made or taught in years, it meant he already knew most of the plants their teacher had in the greenhouses. He kept his hand and head down though, making sure not to grab the attention of those in his house, just incase one of them fed back to the Dark Lord, or their parents.

"This is so confusing" Caesar muttered on his right. Severus glanced over to the white haired boy, raising an eyebrow at what the boy had written.

"No, that's wrong" he muttered out of the corner of his mouth, keeping his eyes on the teacher as he spoke. "They aren't cut at midnight. They have to be planted at midnight while a full moon shows. They have to be cut out at a new moon at midnight."

Caesar frowned, looking over Severus' notes. His grey eyes went wide and he nodded slowly, snapping out of it to scribble down on his own note page. Severus snorted, turning away from his only Slytherin friend to find LJ muttering to himself, pencil behind his ear, his hair a dark purple in concentration and his quill squeaking hard on the parchment. Severus leaned over the Hufflepuff's shoulder and found himself staring.

"Sev..."

The Slytherin pulled away far enough to see LJ's confused face, hair turning slowly to a lighter purple then it had been.

"I...those are...my mother used to write like that" Severus managed to stammer out finally. "That's Master leave Herbology!" He had lowered his voice, not wanted people to stare at them; still Caesar and the Hufflepuff boy on LJ's other side glanced at them, the unnamed boy with a sneer and Caesar with wide eyes. LJ blushed.

"It's...its just easy for me" LJ muttered after a moment, scribbling something else down. "Like...like Herc with Defence and you with Potions."

Severus nodded. "Maybe you'll be a Herbology teacher?"

LJ shock his head hard, almost dislodging the pencil behind his ear. "No. I don't know what I'm meant to do, but that isn't it."

Severus nodded without needing any explanation. He had come to trust LJ's odd feeling about things. It was a power and Severus had learned to never question a power's words or feelings, no matter who or how they came about.

"Do you think you'll get a Mastership though?" Severus asked as they went back to their work. He glance out of the corner of his eye at LJ, just in time to see the Hufflepuff nod.

"Yeah...yeah, I think I will" LJ smiled secretly, a smile that made Severus wasn't too sure if he wanted to know what was going on inside his friend's head. "Just in case."

Lunch found them at the Gryffindor table. Somehow Hercules found himself between Severus and Lily, across from Sirius Black. Sirius who spent the whole hour shooting him looks, and by the end of lunch Hercules had just about had enough. He grabbed Sirius' arm as soon as they had reached the door out of the Great Hall, pulling the surprised Gryffindor into an empty classroom, shouting over his shoulder at the rest of his friends to go on.

"What?" He growled at Sirius as soon as they were alone.

"What?" Sirius echoed, much more confused then annoyed.

"Those looks during lunch" Hercules clarified, crossing his arms. "What do you want to talk to me about then?"

Sirius stared at Hercules for a moment, then looked down, biting his lip as he played with the helm of his cloak sleeve. He took a deep breath, then looked back up at Hercules.

"The Black's are known for being a Dark family" he begun softly. "I hate it. Mother and Father are so cold to me and always trying to shove Dark beliefs onto me and my brother. Regulus...he's the perfect son in their eyes. James was my only friend in years and his parents allowed me over to the house whenever in needed to get away. They began my saviours...but I saw James watching you and your friends before Transfiguration... He said you were Dark, because your a Ravenclaw and because you're friends with other houses. I don't think that but if...I can't go back to my parents, Hercules, and James and his parents..."

"Oh" Hercules had dropped both his arms and his anger close to the beginning of Sirius' short story. "So...what did you want to talk to me about?"

"You...you're James' cousin and you're different. I can tell" Sirius glanced around. "Your aura...its so different from anyone else's, even the professors. Would you...do you think I could be your friend? Can you protect me from my mother and father?"

Hercules stared at the face that dared to hope, a sad look in his eyes. There were so many things he wished he could tell Sirius; so many promises he had made to stop exactly this type of thing from happening.

"I wish I could Sirius" he ended up muttering. "There's only so much I can help you with, now. But...I can talk with my father and uncle. Maybe they could find some way to allow you to stay with another family until you turn seventeen?"

Sirius lowered his eyes and Hercules was sure he saw the last of that hope disappear from those blue-grey eyes. He stepped forward, reaching out carefully. Sirius shielded away, pushing himself away from the Ravenclaw, tears beginning to form.

"I can't! I can't! You don't understand Hercules! I can't stay there! And now I can't stay with James! Where am I meant to go? Leave on the streets of muggle London?" Sirius cried.

"No" Hercules told the older boy with a forceful tone he had only ever heard from his great-grandfather once, oh so many years ago now. "No, Sirius, I'll promise you - I will make sure you have a home to go to, and that you have a family who will care for you and love you for who you are, nothing less and nothing more."

Sirius stared at the boy in front of him, too shocked to even cry. "You will? How...?"

Hercules smiled; it was a smile of love and care, one that every parent knew from their own parents, but one which Sirius had never seen before. It made him feel safe; it made him feel calm; it made him trust the boy no older then him with something he had once thought impossible.

"I never brake my promises, Sirius Black, and I don't plan on starting with this promise" Hercules Potter stated with the calm sureness which only adults had, and those who had grown up too quickly and understand too much. "I will make sure you have a home and a family to call your own. I promise you this."

And Sirius had no reason not to believe the boy.

Hercules wasn't too sure what had made him promise Sirius. Maybe it had to do with the knowledge that Sirius would be the godfather of his great-grandfather? Maybe it was that he had grown up hearing stories of Sirius Black, James Potter and Remus Lupin, the three Marauders, and felt a pull towards the men who had brought so much laugher, even in the darkest of times, to his family? Either way, he had promised Sirius and as he said, he never broke a promise, and he was hardly about to start.

He had no idea how he was going to kept the promise, but he was sure he would...somehow.

Ideas circled each other in his head as he ran to his next lesson, half thinking of Charms, half on his Sirius problem. He would have to research the law. There must be something in there allowing children from abusive families to live with others. Maybe he could ask LJ and Sev to help...

"Is everything alright?"

Hercules blinked, staring into Severus' dark eyes for a moment before the question even registered with him. Once it had he nodded. "Yeah...but I'll need some help to make sure it stays that way."

"Name it" Severus agreed at once. Hercules blinked in surprise and Severus simply smiled back. Hercules grinned, explaining his problem. By the end Severus was frowning, as were Romulus, Kingsley and Caesar who had moved to stand close to them when Hercules had appeared.

"There aren't any pure blood laws about this, per say" Caesar stated. "However...there are muggle born laws about it."

"What do you mean?" Romulus asked, glancing at Kingsley for moment, then quickly to Hercules and Severus. The other three were just as confused.

"If a muggle born is found to be abused by their muggle relations, however they are related, the Ministry will take away the child and any magical siblings they may have and place them with a well known pure blood family with checks to make sure that the muggle borns become well-meaning members of our society" Caesar read from memory. "There's a similar law with half bloods but not anything like it to pure bloods. I guess the Ministry believes that because most pure bloods cherish their children so as there are so few of us, they weren't think anyone would dare to abuse a pure blood child."

"So Black weren't be able to do anything in his defence?" Severus frowned. "But he has proof..." He turned away slightly. Hercules reached out, placing a calming hand on his friend's arm, making Severus turn to look at him. The Slytherin smiled softly for a moment, turning back to the conversation. "It makes no sense."

Caesar shrugged and nodded at the same time.

"What if he was to simply run away?" Kingsley suggested, surprising them. The dark skinned Ravenclaw had found himself speaking more, both in class and to those around him especially friends, ever since he had told Romulus about his family secret. "Is that not what he has been doing for the past year?"

"True" Hercules muttered. "Would the Ministry do anything if he was to do that?" He looked to Caesar as he asked the question. The young Malfoy frowned, thinking.

"I don't think so" he answered slowly. "If he was to tel his parents where he was, and was able to show that he had done that...even if his parents told the Ministry he was kidnapped they weren't be able to do anything. However...there is also nothing to stop them from kidnapping Sirius back. The family he would be staying with would be unable to do anything either as they are, by blood and name, Sirius' guardians and parents."

"By blood and name..." Hercules went off with a frown.

"Blood adoption? Herc...if the Ministry was to ever find out..." Severus warned. Hercules waved him away.

"I know, I know. Plus Sirius would never be able to step foot into England again as it wouldn't be able to change his magic" he sighed, rubbing his temples. "Is it possible to even do this?"

His friends shrugged and the five of them laughed, smiling at each other at the stupidness of the question. Oh course, if it was this hard, it wouldn't be anyway near easy but Hercules wasn't about to give out, and it seemed his friends weren't about to either.

"C'mon" Romulus muttered after a moment with a smile. "Let's think about Charms. Hopefully it won't give us such a headache!"

They laughed again just as the bell for their lesson went. They filled into the room and the lesson begun with all headaches and thoughts of Sirius Black left alone, for the moment at least.

The third period found Lucius Malfoy with free time. It was too close to the beginning of term for him to have any homework, or even know what to begin revising for his exams, of he took to walking around the castle, allowing his mind to wonder. It took little time for it to return to the subject which had been on his mind since the sorting feast - that of the first years and the fact of friends between the houses.

He hadn't been lying or grandstanding when he had told his girlfriend he knew a way to stop the war between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore. He knew that begun and ended with the houses of Hogwarts and the stereotypes which had built up over the years since the Founders themselves. To stop the war, and any of that type which would follow, meant stopping the stereotypes, maybe even getting rid of the houses in time, though he was sure, for the time being at least, that was a last chose and too big of a step for everyone.

He just wasn't too sure how to do it. After seeing Felix Gibbs' reaction, overhearing the muttering so of Dumbledore in front of the Staff Room, and watching as two Gryffindor first years, who had as close as brothers, split because of this, Lucius was stuck at what to think.

He found himself, ten minutes into his walk, no closer to an answer and outside of the library, able to look in enough to see a young Hufflepuff with dark purple hair bent over a large book, almost covered by one of the curtains in the study areas. Close by a Gryffindor held a quill in a strong hand as he thought, ink dripping onto the parchment. As soon as the boy noticed the ink drops he growled, returning the quill to its inker as he got out another piece of parchment. Lucius chuckled softly, walking into the library, towards the Hufflepuff.

"May I sit here?" He asked the first year softly once he was at the other's table. The Hufflepuff glanced up at him with a wary look Lucius had never seen from either a first year or a Hufflepuff before, but the younger nodded, and Lucius sat, placing himself carefully behind the curtain. It wouldn't do for another Slytherin to find him talking to a Hufflepuff, no matter why.

"You're one of Severus Snape's friends, correct?" Lucius asked after a moment. The Hufflepuff glanced up at him again, nodded again and went back to his book. He glanced up for the third time, sighed and set the book aside, turning completely to face Lucius.

"You're Caesar Malfoy's brother" he offered back. "Lucius Malfoy, fifth year male prefect of Slytherin and boyfriend of Narcissa Black."

Lucius raised his eyebrows, surprised about how much the young Hufflepuff knew about him when he didn't even know the boy's name. The boy in question smiled at the surprised look.

"Caesar told us. He also said you might talk with some of us" he explained. "I'm Leroy Gibbs - LJ I like better."

Lucius nodded, completely understanding. Had he a nice way of shortening his own name he would do it in a heartbeat, no matter what anyone else said.

"My brother was correct. I do want to speak with and your friends - Severus Snape and the Ravenclaw with dark hair and green eyes. It is of most importance..." He leaned closer to the young Hufflepuff. "It may begin the end of the wizarding wars."

LJ's eyebrows shot up and he too leaned forward. "And how could three first years help stopping wars?"

"By being yourselves" Lucius smiled. "The wars, I've noticed, are all about the stereotypes which begun so many centuries ago, along with the hate between Gryffindors and Slytherins. I'm sure that is no all this war between the Dark Lord and Dumbledore are about, but it would be one less thing to fight about."

LJ nodded, thinking, and for a moment Lucius realised, stupidly, how young the Hufflepuff was. Only eleven and here Lucius was, dragging the boy into a war that Lucius himself had promised he would have nothing to do with when he was only a year younger then LJ. He shock his head, keeping the sigh to himself. No matter if he liked or not, it was what he needed to do.

"I'll talk with Hercules and Severus at dinner" LJ told the older Slytherin after a moment. "Can we meet here again...ten minutes after dinner? We'll all be free until midnight for Hercules."

Lucius nodded, thinking over his own schedule. He would be free too. "That is fine - I will be free too. I'll meet you here after dinner then." He glanced out of the curtain quickly, then stood and walked swiftly from the library, leaving a confused and thoughtful Hufflepuff behind.

"Hmm..." LJ muttered, stroking the book he had been reading before Lucius had walked over. "Ending the war...yes...it feels right..."

The young chosen of Justice smiled to himself, reopened the book and begun reading about the man who had become Justice, one of the gods of the old magika, and his guardian.

Frank Longbottom sighed as he once again dropped ink onto his first piece of homework, replacing his quill again to, once again, change parchment, when a Slytherin walked in. A Gryffindor Frank might be but he didn't have the same views of James Potter, nor of Remus Lupin, not even close to Sirius Black, and none of them knew the views of their fifth fellow first year, Peter Pettigrew. Frank, learning only from the mistakes of others and books, simply glanced at the Slytherin's back as he crossed in front of the desk where Frank sat. As Frank watched the Slytherin joined the Hufflepuff at the other end of the library and the two begun to speak.

Another splash came from the inker and Frank groaned, turning to find that the quill had been upended, ink around it in quite a large circle, including on the new piece of parchment he had only just gotten from his bag. At his rate he would have to owl home for more parchment before the first week was up.

"You could use a spell."

Frank stared at the girl who had spoken with such a soft voice. She stood next to his desk with books hugged to her chest, staring at Frank with a slightly confused expression.

"I don't know any to stop this" Frank sighed, cleaning the ink and his quill as best as he could, returning the quill to his bag. It was impossible, just like his grandmother had told him the first time she had placed a quill in his hand. He just couldn't write with the things.

"Mummy showed me one. May I?" The girl nodded to his parchment. Frank frowned but nodded, watching closely as she leaned over him slightly to get his parchment. She only touched it with a figure, muttering a couple of words, and leaned back, allowing Frank to aspect the parchment. He stared.

"How...?" His widened eyes stared at the girl. "That's...wand less...that's impossible!"

The Hufflepuff girl shock her head, soft brown curls flying as she did so. "With small spells, like that, some people can forces their magic enough to do it. But at first it's really hard. Daddy told me that if a person is really powerful they'd be able to do wand less magic like that with any spell, but I'm nowhere near that powerful."

Frank sat there, gasping at the girl for a moment, then remembered himself and blushed, looking away. "Well...thank you. I'm Frank Longbottom, by the way."

"Alice Prewett" the girl smiled shyly. "And you're welcome, Frank Longbottom."

She walked calmly from the library and Frank watched her go, with no idea he had just met his future girlfriend and wife. He simply smiled to himself and went back to work, this time using a pencil.

Albus Dumbledore stared at the map he had of Hogwarts. It had been made by the Founders to make sure that no one unwanted were on their lands, though at the moment Albus was using it to spy on the students. A deep frown had settled on his face as he walked the small dots, marking each student, walking around or simply sat. He watched a Slytherin/Ravenclaw class which he knew to be full of first years, especially two dots, one marked Hercules Potter and the other Severus Snape.

The two boys, as well as their other friend - Leroy Gibbs - were getting on Dumbledore's nerves. They had done so much to upset the calm understanding world of Hogwarts in less then two days, and Dumbledore was afraid of the fallout. He was sure, when this got the outside world, that there would be chaos. No one would stand for it but Albus had no idea how to stop these three first years. Though it didn't end with the three. No, higher years had already begun to have friendships in other houses as well, even seventh years! It was quite surprising and Albus hated surprises.

For the moment he would allow the misguided first years to do what they wanted; he would watched them closely, making sure that they didn't know anything more to upset the wizarding world.

After all they were only children. They didn't know any better.

 **If you could leave a comment when your done. While I love the comments I've gotten at the moment they're only from a couple of people so it'd be nice to hear what other people think as well. But please, if you've got something bad to say about the story, explain it and try an idea I could do to make it better!**


	7. Chapter 7

**I know I promised more chapters, but I didn't think I'd be as busy as I have been the past few days, but here it is! Better late then never. Hope you enjoy it!**

Chapter Six

Dinner was...interesting. They had chosen to sit at the Hufflepuff tables, as they had been at Ravenclaw and Gryffindor already that day. They had already chosen Slytherin for breakfast the next morning and Gryffindor for lunch. But with the Hufflepuffs, things were different. It was easy for Severus and Remus, neither of which had ever had much other contact from others, to understand why LJ hated it there, and even the others were slightly annoyed at the consent touching by the end of the meal.

"I'm sure they weren't this bad yesterday" Sally muttered around half way through the meal, sliding closer to Lily as she picked at the food on her plate. Lily shock her head.

"No, no, they were just as bad" she muttered back, glancing away from a third year Hufflepuff who smiled at her. It might be rude but she didn't want to be hugged again. It just wasn't normal, this much contact. "You were just at the end of the table so not many people could touch you."

Sally nodded. A upper year girl reached across her, one hand on Sally's shoulder to steady herself as she spoke with someone else of her year on the other side of the table. Sally glared at the side of the older girl's head, turned and tried to ignore the hand on her shoulder as she was drawn into a conversation between her own year mates.

LJ, Severus and Hercules sat together at the end of the Hufflepuff table, away from the rest of the Hufflepuffs and their friends, hoping it would give them enough space to allow for the secret conversation to go on without being overheard.

"Are you sure that is what he said?" Hercules asked softly, green eyes so intense LJ almost looked away.

"Yes" he whispered, leaning over the table to take an apple. "That's what he said. Why Herc? I know it's important but you...it seems even more important to you then to us."

Hercules glanced between LJ and Severus and sighed, nodding. "It is. My secret...part of it is because the war ended. If it was to end even earlier, and if things go the way they did..."

"It almost sounds like your a Seer or from the future" Severus pointed out. Hercules blinked at his Slytherin friend, mentally cursing himself.

"That is part of my secret" he finally said. "We should meet with Lucius. Oh, I wish my great-grandfather was here..." The last part was muttered so softly not even Severus or LJ heard him. He closed his eyes, calming himself for a moment. He had no way of knowing that somewhere a goddess listened and grated his wish.

"Do you think it would be possible, though?" Severus asked, watching Hercules closely. "Could we end the war and stop any others from happening from these stereotypes?"

Hercules and LJ exchanged a glance and the two nodded.

"It is completely possible" LJ agreed.

"However, what happens afterwards..." Hercules sighed. Severus frowned, not understanding, and Hercules went on. "If wars end in the wizarding community, would do you think they will do next? As one of those stereotypes are of muggles and muggle borns, do you not think the Ministry would try to make better relations with their muggle counterparts?"

"And that would be bad?" Severus half guessed. "How?"

"If they are not ready" Hercules shock his head, remembering the conversation he had with his great-grandfather over the same matter. "Humans, as a whole, fear what we don't understand. If something so strange, so alien, was suddenly pushed onto you, what would you?"

"Fight it" Severus nodded, understanding finally. "If they aren't ready, they will fight as and therefore, not only would we be proving what pure bloods have always believed about muggles, but we will just be jumping from one war straight into another."

His other friends nodded.

"Will need to be careful with Lucius and others" Hercules told them. "There's no knowing what they plan to do, or what the outcome may be."

"We should still listen to him, tonight" LJ pointed out. "At least that would allow us to have some type of understanding about what he is thinking about."

Hercules nodded in agreement. The two turned to Severus and the Slytherin nodded as well. The conversation finished, the three turned to other, less stressful and more joyful thoughts...like their homework.

Getting away from the others of his year, plus his girlfriend and her own friends, turned out to be harder then Lucius had first thought. As it turned out he got to the library twenty minutes after he had said he would meet the first years. When he did turn up he found the three first years sitting in a tight circle, whispering softly to each other. From what Lucius could see the Slytherin had a notebook, the Ravenclaw with a couple of books around him, and the Hufflepuff was the main one talking. Lucius coughed softly once he was close to them. The three looked up, all with strangely similar expression of nervous and anticipation. Looking at the three together Lucius held back a shiver at the power, albeit untrained, within the three eyes.

"My friends kept me, I apologise" Lucius explained smoothly, sliding into the seat behind the curtain, strangely also the only one available. The first years moved away from each other, allowing Lucius into their circle.

"LJ said you wanted to talk with us" the Ravenclaw stated, eyebrows raised, and Lucius suddenly felt as though he was being watched, observed, by a nicer, younger, calmer Lord Voldemort. And at eleven, with the power he had, Lucius felt a trickle of fear at the thought of how powerful the boy, we'll all three of them really, would be once he came into all of their powers.

"Yes. I wanted to talk about stopping the war between the Dark Lord and Professor Dumbledore" Lucius explained. "You three have only been at Hogwarts for less then two days and already people of all years are speaking to each, become friends... If you were able to get everyone, of all ages, to be like this..."

The young Snape raised his eyebrows, turning slightly to whisper in the Ravenclaw's ear.

"Ok...how do you think we would do that? After all, no one would listen to three eleven year olds" LJ pointed out. Lucius nodded, slightly sadly.

"That is the main problem...but if you could get a message out...trying to stop others from living up to and keeping the stereotypes alive" he explained. The three nodded, as though they had expected that. LJ leaned over the Ravenclaw, pulling the notebook out of Severus' hands.

"We were looking up..." LJ bit his lip, looking between his two other friends. They both nodded slightly to him. LJ looked back to Lucius, continuing on. "We were looking up newspapers...to see if we could make one, under different names, of course, but it would allow us to talk with the public."

Lucius stared, quite surprised that the forward thinking of the first years. He smiled happily, looking to the notebook in LJ's hands, reaching forward to it. "May I?"

The three first years exchanged looks before LJ nodded, handing the notebook over to the fifth year. His eyes widened in such a way that made LJ laugh softly, Hercules snort and Severus' eyes twinkle with laugher.

"You thought all this up through dinner?" Lucius asked, staring at the three younger boys. "With this forward thinking..."

"Um...no" Hercules blushed slightly, as did his friends but not as deeply. "We thought about it between dinner and when you arrived."

Lucius stared, causing the first years to blush even more. The three of them watched closely as Lucius read over their plan.

"Are you sure this is possible?" the older boy finally asked, the three nodded, Hercules patting one of the books by him.

"The law is that, as long as there's a real person with a real name and contact information as the guardian of the newspaper, it doesn't matter who writes the articles. As long as the person who name's on the paper is alive and older then seventeen" he explained. "That's what we're stuck on. Neither LJ nor Sev could ask their parents and my parents won't let me...for other reasons."

Lucius nodded, frowning. It was clear, by the look in Hercules' eyes that he hoped the older year had an idea.

"I could ask my uncle" he said slowly. "He lives in France, with the main Malfoy line...and he is quite open to this idea. He was actually the one to make me aware of this...problem."

Hercules nodded, looking to his friends. LJ nodded with a satisfied smile, Severus watched them with a sharp nod, a smile on his face which widened as he met Hercules and LJ's eyes. Lucius watched the smile and felt a smile of his own beginning, which only widened as the three looked at each other. A comfortable feeling fell over the group and the feeling that they had suddenly changed the course of events; each of them hoping it was for the better.

For Hercules Astronomy was a weird subject. It wasn't just the subject itself, really, but why it was there. Reading the stars was put of the old studies, at a time when people didn't have maps, cars and had to travel on foot for long hours just to visit friends or family. That wasn't the fact now, with portkeys, the floo and other transportation in the magical world, and the ones in the muggle world.

The only other reason Hercules knew about reading the tars was through divination, like the type centaurs used, but no humans were able to do that. At least that was what Harry had always taught him.

"Mr. Potter?"

It was the end of the class and Hercules had hung back, to the surprise of both his friends and the teacher.

"Professor, I wanted to ask why we have this class" and at once Hercules hoped the question didn't sound like something coming from a brat.

"The classes have never changed since the Founders" the professor told him. "Do you have a problem with the stars?"

"No" Hercules warned the professor off at once. "I was just wondering...what use does the class have, later in life?"

The professor looked quite surprised. She opened her mouth to say something, then seemed to remember something and glanced at her watch, frowning slightly. "It's quite late. Why not you go off to bed and...how about we set some time, maybe this Sunday, aside so I can explain more about Astronomy?"

"Sure" Hercules' eyes brightened at the thought. "Good night Professor."

The professor smiled a warm smile. "Good night Mr. Potter."

Hercules smiled once again and begun the track to the Ravenclaw dorms. It was around half way between the Astronomy tower and the tower which housed the Ravenclaw common room, that he found himself stopping suddenly, frozen almost, with no reason for it.

"Godric, you are being stupid! You know what the muggles could do, should they learn of our existence."

The voice sounded though it came from far away, though at the same time it was almost as though the person speaking was right in front of Hercules.

"We cannot condone a whole species because of the acts of few."

"No, but we still should not welcome them with open arms!"

"I will not have -"

The voice became gargled, unable to understand, and a second later Hercules found himself able to move. He stumbled, having been half way through a step when he had been stopped, falling on the nearest wall to steady himself.

"What the..." He muttered to himself. Through all of the stories he had heard of Hogwarts, from both books and his great-grandfather, he had never heard of anything like that happening before. It was almost like ghosts, yet not, and one of them had called the other 'Godric'... The only Godric Hercules knew of was Godric Gryffindor.

He blinked his eyes, shaking his head and stood. It was too late for those types of thoughts. If he begun down that road, he would find himself without sleep for the whole night and he had classes the next morning.

"Maybe I'll ask Severus and LJ about it..." He muttered to himself, walking off.

Behind the young Ravenclaw, two ghosts flew by a window.

"He is the first to see us" the ghost of Salazar Slytherin pointed out. "After so many years, I was beginning to think..."

"We should watch him closely" the ghost of Godric Gryffindor muttered softly. "There must be a reason why he can see us, and why now."

Salazar nodded in agreement, and a second later the two ghosts had disappeared, not seen by anyone.

The next morning Severus, LJ, Remus, Lily and Sally found their Ravenclaw friends a different degrees of tiredness. Kingsley had lost his normal up-right back and was slumped against Romulus' shoulder as the werewolf tried to wake himself up with coffee cup after coffee cup. Hercules was best of the three but even he had lost a sparkle to his eyes and his skin looked slightly sickly.

"What happened to you three?" Sally and Lily asked the same time when they had sat down.

"Astronomy" Romulus groaned, still sipping his coffee.

"It can't have been that bad..." LJ begun, only to waved off by Hercules.

"It's not" the only completely awake Ravenclaw rolled his eyes at his house-mates. "The subject itself is easy. But it happens at midnight and goes on until half one in the morning. None was able to get any sleep until at least two. Kingsley here, following his father's orders, did his homework straight after the class and isn't even look at his bed until it was coming up to three."

"Nor did you" Kingsley pointed out, blinking tiredly at Hercules. "You were still down in the common room when I went up to bed at quarter past three."

Those not in Ravenclaw stared at Hercules. The boy himself had no desire to explain why, after all his life on the run, he had grown used to staying up late and sometimes even going days without sleep. So instead he shrugged it off and begun breakfast, making sure to slid helpings onto Romulus and Kingsley's plates as well.

"What is it like?" Remus asked, curiosity winning over once he knew his brother was fine.

"Boring" Hercules muttered to himself. Remus' sharp werewolf ears were the only ones to hear the mutter though, as Romulus was still half-sleep and trying to make Kingsley eat. Raising his voice, he explained the subject though. "It's the study of the night sky. Of different constellation and how each other look different at different times of the year."

"Hey - Hercules, what did you stay behind to ask the professor?" Romulus asked, suddenly remembering.

"I wanted to know why we study the subject" Hercules shrugged. "She said we could talk on Sunday about it."

"Why...what?" Lily stared at Hercules as though she had never seen him before. "Because it's important! Like all of our other subjects!"

"But what do we use it for?" Hercules pointed out. "We have watches and clocks to tell the time and there is no pathway in which the constellations would be helpful. We don't learn the divination of the subject, so why?"

Lily opened her mouth, probably to tell Hercules off again, but snapped it shut as she thought over what he had said, a frown forming.

"There has to be a reason, though" she said stubbornly. "The teachers weren't just keep a subject around for no reason."

Or would they?

Hercules, LJ and Severus exchanged a look not caught by anyone around them. All of them knew that the school hadn't changed since the Founders, so why would subjects be any different? Did that mean that they were learning subjects which were pointless to learn in the age they were in?

The bell went and they stood. LJ brushed past both of his friends, dropping a piece of parchment into both of their pockets as he went to his first lesson of the day, the Ravenclaws following at a slower pace.

Jane-Paul Malfoy liked to think of himself as quite a normal, quiet type. And for the most part, he was. He was a loving husband to his wife and a caring father to his children, nieces and nephews. He loved his brothers and sisters, friends and all the others he thought of as 'family', even those who he hardly saw.

So when an owl flew through the window of his study, from his nephew Lucius in England, Jane-Paul was over the moon, even if the letter was more about a favour then social.

"Jane? Are you ok, my love?"

Jane-Paul smiled, holding out a hand to his wife. Irma, who he had met when visiting his uncle in England, and even after over twenty years of marriage he still loved her as much as the day they had first met.

"Lucius just sent a letter" he explained, holding it out to her. Irma took the letter, reading it with a smile, finishing with a happy nod.

"Our nephew seems to know what he is doing" she pointed out. "Will you help him?"

Jane-Paul didn't even hesitate. "Of course. He is family, after all."

Irma laughed. "Of course! You Malfoy's and your families!" She stood again from the chair, bending slightly to press a kiss to his check, then one to his lips. "You are a good man, Jane-Paul. Tell Lucius I expect another letter from him soon, and a visit."

She walked from the room, leaving Jane-Paul to his thoughts. He read the letter over again.

"I know you worry, uncle, but I promise you, this will stop the wars, for good. It is impossible for it not to."

"Oh Lucius" Jane-Paul sighed, thinking back to another young white-haired boy, full of ideas that he had known. "I hope you don't fall into the same trap your father did."

He moved the letter aside and begun his own, because, no matter what, Lucius was family and a Malfoy would do whatever he (or she) had to for their family, and Jane-Paul was no exception. He would help Lucius and his friends out, and he hoped beyond hope that they were right about this.

Lucius received his uncle's letter three days later, just as he had begun to eat lunch. He tucked it away, ignoring the questioning looks from his friends, and finished with the meal quickly.

"I need to talk with a couple of people" he muttered softly to Narcissa just before he stood from the table, placing a soft kiss on her forehead. "I will see you later."

He felt Narcissa's eyes on his back as he walked from the Great Hall in search of the three first years. Thankfully enough he found them in the library, this time with the rest of their friends.

"May we talk?" Lucius asked as soon as he caught Hercules' eye, looking to Severus and LJ as he spoke. The three nodded, making their excuses to their friends, and followed Lucius to one of the curtain covered tables. The four sat down and Lucius was suddenly grateful that the table was round, meaning he didn't have to always stare at those three powerful eyes at the same time.

"My uncle sent a letter back" he explained, pulling the letter from his pocket. "He will help."

The three smiled to each other.

"Here is his address. I explained everything to him" Lucius finished, writing the address down. "You will tell me if this works, correct?"

"Of course" Severus answered. Lucius smiled, stood and walked from the library, his cloak caught in a strange wind. Severus stared after it. "That is so cool...ow!" He turned, rubbing his head, to glare at LJ. The Hufflepuff grinned back.

"Guys" Hercules sighed, looking down at the address Lucius had given them. "So, what do you think?"

"Well, I'm all for it" LJ shrugged. "Why...are you having doubts?"

Hercules frowned, shaking his head slightly. "Not doubts. I know that everyone will have different views on this but... Ok, what should we call it?"

"The Truth?" LJ suggested. When Hercules and Severus looked to him he shrugged. "That's what the newspaper will be about, so why try to cover it up?"

The Ravenclaw and Slytherin nodded, smiling to their Hufflepuff companion.

"I don't have any ideas" Severus said, his smile widening. "So, The Truth?"

Hercules nodded, writing in his ever present notebook. He nodded again. "Yes, The Truth it is."

The rest of their first week went on peacefully. The three put their side project away for the moment, concentrating their efforts on homework instead, and before they knew it the second week had begun.

"Mr. Potter, stay behind."

Hercules glanced up from his potion to his teacher. "Yes sir." He looked over to LJ, who was also in the class with him, frowning. LJ frowned back, mouthing 'what did you do'. Hercules shrugged and waited for the class to end to find out.

"Ah, Hercules" Professor Slughorn smiled to one of his best students. Hercules smiled warily back. "I have noticed that you are quite far ahead of the rest of the students in Potions."

Hercules glanced down, nodding once. "Yes sir. My great-grandfather taught me quite a lot of Hogwarts subjects before he died."

"Oh" for a moment the professor looked sad, then his smile was back. "I was wondering if you would like to become my apprentice. I will be offering this to Lily Evens and Severus Snape as well. The three of you have seen quite a shine to Potions and it would be a shame to waste such talent."

Hercules stared. An appearance, him? At only eleven, the second week... "Can I think about it, sir?"

"Of course!" The professor grinned at him. "Now, run along to dinner! But do not take too long to think it over, as I will have to teach you up to seventh year, and quite quickly."

"Yes sir!" Hercules grinned, running off to catch up with his friends. By the time he had reached the Great Hall and found his friends at the Slytherin table he was quite out of breath.

"So, what happened? What did Professor Slughorn want to talk to you about?" LJ asked as soon as Hercules was seated.

"He offered me an apprenticeship!" Hercules grinned at his friends.

"You too?" Severus grinned over at him. "Professor Moss offered me one as well!"

"As did Professor Flitwick for me!" Sally chimed in with her own grin. "He said I was one of the best he had ever seen in Charms."

"He said that to me too!" Lily grinned as she joined them. "I just heard that James Potter and Sirius Black got apprenticeships in Transfiguration, along with me! And Professor Flitwick just offered me one as well!"

"Well" Romulus stared at them. "It seems to be the day for those offers. I guess we're" he pointed to himself, Kingsley, Remus and LJ, "just not good enough."

"We haven't had all of our classes yet, Romulus" Hercules smiled to he fellow Ravenclaw. "I'm sure someone will offer you one by the end of the week."

Romulus nodded but still looked annoyed. Kingsley reached over, calming him with soft words, and a moment later Romulus was back to the nice boy they all knew.

"Why do you think they're offering it to so many of us?" Lily asked suddenly. "I mean, they must think we're all very good, but I've never read anything about this many apprenticeships so quickly into the year, or in a single year."

"Maybe we just happen to be a talented year?" Remus guessed. He turned suddenly to Hercules. "Oh - Sirius spoke to me during our last classes. His brother sent him a letter. It turns out their parents have gone."

"Gone?" Hercules frowned, trying to make sense of what Remus was saying. "What do you mean, gone?"

"Just that" Remus glanced over the hall to where Sirius sat, seemingly laughing and joking with James, but he could see the tension in the other Gryffindor's shoulders and jaw. "Regulus, that's his brother, said that he woke on Friday to an empty house. That was no note, no explanation as to where they had gone, or why."

"Odd" Hercules muttered, looking over to the Gryffindor table himself. "I guess that isn't normal for the Black parents?"

Remus shock his head. "No. Regulus wrote to his aunt and uncle, Narcissa Black's parents, to see if they might have some understanding, but none had no idea as well. For the moment Regulus has gone to live with them, though it sounds like he's spending more time at Narcissa's elder sister's house."

Hercules nodded. "And...why are you telling me this?"

Remus frowned at the question, shrugged. "Honestly I have no idea, but Sirius wanted you to know."

Hercules' frown deepened and he looked back at the Gryffindor table. His eyes caught on Sirius' blue-grey eyes and the Gryffindor lifted a goblet, toasting Hercules as he turned back to James, laughing at something the other boy had said, leaving Hercules deep in thought.

As it turned out Hercules was correct. By the end of the week everyone in his little group of friends had been offered at least one apprenticeship. Hercules himself had been offered Defence and Transfiguration along with his Potions; Severus had also been offered Potions, along with Herbology; LJ had received Transfiguration and Charms. Remus had been offered Defence while Romulus received Transfiguration and, to the surprise and slight horror of everyone else, History. Kingsley had surprised everyone by, somehow, getting an apprenticeship in Healing as well as one in Herbology. Sally hadn't received any other offers, nor had the Gryffindors the group kept their eyes on (James and Sirius), while Lily had gotten into both Potions and Charms.

No one was stupid enough to turn down any of the offers, and therefore the ten first years suddenly found themselves with almost too much work. As it turned out Hercules had to hand the first print of The Truth over to Lucius once it was written (no one was completely sure how he had written it, or when), and with so much work time passed quickly, too quickly for some.

 **As always, please leave a comment! I'm growing to love 'em, and more comments make me happy! :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Here's the next chapter. Sorry for the wait. This chapter just didn't want to be written. I also started a new story - Unexpected, Wanted which is a Harry Potter fan fiction if anyone wants to read it. It's also about time travel. That seems to be my thing at the moment.**

 **Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter Seven

Before long it was December and with it came Christmas, along with the holidays. As they came closer Hercules begun to notice Severus' behaviour.

His Slytherin friend had never been as active seeking as the others nor as social, but he at least kept around them. As the days turned into weeks, though, Severus kept more and more to his common room, and, Hercules guessed, to his dorm. He had an idea why but it wasn't until Caesar had sort him out that he knew something had to be done.

"Please, just come" Caesar begged, giving Hercules his first clue that something was terribly wrong. He allowed the white haired Slytherin to brag to the Slytherin common room, then up to where the first year boys slept. They stopped outside of the door. "He won't come out of his bed now. It's like he's scared of something. I asked his siblings but they were just as tight lipped as he is. Please, Hercules, help him."

Hercules nodded and pushed the door open, leaving Caesar to return to breakfast.

"Severus?" He called, finding the boy's bed quickly. It was the only one with curtain still pulled around it.

"Hercules?" Severus' head pocked out of the curtains. "What the -? Why...how are you here?"

"Caesar dragged me here" Hercules explained, stepping closer. "He said you weren't come out. Will you tell me what's wrong?"

Severus' face shut down at once and his head disappeared back into the curtains. "No."

Hercules sighed, stepping close enough to sit on the bed on Severus' left. "I'm not leaving until you do, Severus. Please, let me help. I'll call LJ down here if I have to."

Severus' head appeared again, glaring at Hercules. "You're cruel."

Hercules shrugged, smiling slightly. He watched Severus carefully as the boy moved slightly, finally pulled the curtains back to allow Hercules into the bed as well. The curtains closed around them once Hercules was sitting inside, making him raise an eyebrow at both Severus and the curtains themselves.

"So?" He prompted. Severus sighed, playing with his bed clothes, looking down.

"I...my family life isn't...nice" he muttered after a moment. "Tobias, my father, hits us sometimes. It's normally Mum more but... I don't want to go back, after being here...but that's what Paloma tried her first year here too and...and..." Severus broke into tears. Hercules rushed forward, pulling the distressed Slytherin into his arms, allowing Severus to cry into his shoulder.

"Sorry" Severus whispered, pulling back slightly to wipe his eyes.

"You have nothing to be sorry for" Hercules muttered softly, whipping the rest of Severus' tears for him. The two stopped, staring at each other. They blinked at the same time, blushing as they looked away.

"Have you talked to your siblings about this?" Hercules asked softly after a moment. Severus shock his head.

"They'll make fun of me" he whispered. "They went through this without anyone. I can to."

"Oh Severus" Hercules sighed. "You shouldn't have to, nor should they. What about talking to Professor Dumbledore or Professor Slughorn?"

Severus shrugged, still playing at his bed clothes. "They can't do anything. Mum said so."

Hercules sighed, a deep sigh which gave away the fact that he was thinking. He rocked back on his knees, staring hard at Severus, and finally nodded.

"I have no idea why no one will help people like you or Sirius, but I promise you this, Severus, that should find yourself or your siblings in need of a place to stay before Christmas ends, you will be welcome in my house" he said. "I don't care what my parents have to say about it, or the professors. Just give the name Potter Castle to the driver of the Knight Bus and he will know where to take you."

Severus nodded slowly, staring at his friend in awe. "Thank you." He smiled tearfully at the Ravenclaw, pulling him tight to him once again. Hercules grunted at the sudden movement but laughed, hugging his friend back.

"You're welcome" he whispered into Severus' dark hair, smiling down at the boy in his arms. It was at that moment that he was sure there would be nothing he wouldn't do for Severus Snape.

LJ knew something was going on with Severus. He didn't prey though, he just watched, breathing out a sigh of relief when, after Caesar had dragged Hercules off at breakfast, the two returned just in time for the bell to ring with Severus in tow.

"Is everything alright?" LJ asked Hercules softly when the Ravenclaw had sat next to him.

"Severus...is a similar position as Sirius" Hercules explained softly and quickly, watching out of the corner of his eyes as Caesar tried to get Severus to eat a piece of toast. The dark haired Slytherin nibbled on it until Hercules glared at him, making him eat it whole and reach for the nearest fruit. LJ chuckled slightly, then frowned, touching Hercules' arm to make him turn back to the Hufflepuff.

"Wait, you mean Severus' father..." LJ went off, staring at the Slytherin, then looked to the Gryffindor table, shaking his head. "Is there nothing he can do?"

"No" Hercules sighed, rubbing his temples. "His siblings and mother have already tried everything they can do. I promised Severus and his siblings rooms at Potter Castle this holiday, just in case they need them."

As soon as he finished the sentence LJ's eyes turned a bright silver, glowing even, though with a glance around Hercules found that only he had noticed it. After a moment, though, LJ was back to his normal blue-eyed self. He slumped slightly forward, catching himself on Hercules' arm and the table.

"He'll need it" was the only thing the Hufflepuff gave as an explanation. He stood and walked quickly from the room, his friends staring after him, Hercules clearly with worry.

"Go on" he told his fellow Ravenclaws. "Tell the professor I'll be late, as will LJ."

They nodded and together the group stood, Caesar sticking close to Severus as they went off to their classes, and Hercules to hunt for LJ.

LJ had no idea what had happened in the Great Hall. No, he did know - he had just seen the future. And it was horrible. How did Seers live with visions such as that?

"Ah, there you are."

LJ held back a groan, looking up to stare at Hercules' concerned green eyes. "You followed me?"

"While, silver glowing eyes and then you suddenly walking out of the Great Hall and hide in the closely bathroom isn't normal, LJ" Hercules pointed out in that annoying adult way of his. LJ sighed.

"Guess you won't leave me alone until I tell you what happened?" He asked, eyebrows raised. Hercules shock his head, sliding to the floor opposite his friend. LJ sighed again and nodded.

"Ok, I had a vision" he stated, closing his eyes tightly. "It was...horrible."

"About Severus and his family?" Hercules guessed. LJ nodded. "Something happened to them and you saw it would happen over this coming holiday?" Another nod. "It would mean they would come to stay with me and my parents." Even though it wasn't a question, LJ gave yet another nod. "Did the Snape parents die?" LJ's nod was slower this time and he turned away, his hair taking a slightly green tint to it. "Oh..." Hercules closed his eyes. "Mr. Snape killed his wife...then himself?" LJ gave his final nod.

"Oh Severus" Hercules whispered, pulling his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry you had to see that LJ. Deaths are never easy to see."

"Yeah, got that" LJ snapped, taking a deep breath. "Sorry. Your right, it's not anywhere near 'nice'." He didn't push Hercules to who he had seen die, just as Hercules kept silent about other details of the deaths; they simply sat together, comforting each other with their own presences.

"We should get to class" LJ muttered after a moment. "But, first...do you think I should tell someone about this?"

"Probably" Hercules nodded, standing. He reached a hand down and LJ was quite surprised when he grabbed without question, allowing Hercules to hall him to his feet. "Do you want me to come with you?"

"Please" LJ bit his lip until Hercules nodded, smiling, and the two left the bathroom together, both ignoring the feeling of cold on their hands where they had briefly touched.

Professor Dumbledore was quite surprised to find a Ravenclaw and a Hufflepuff at his doors just as the first lesson had begun. Especially since the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff in question were Hercules Potter and Leroy Gibbs.

"Come in" he called to the first year. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Gibbs, what can I do for you?"

The boys glanced at each other and Hercules nodded. Leroy turned back to Dumbledore, stepping forward.

"This morning, during breakfast, I had a vision" the young Hufflepuff told him. Albus raised his eyebrows. "It was...quite horrible."

"A vision?" Albus stared at the boy. "Have you ever had a vision before?"

"No sir" Leroy answered. "But -"

"I am quite sure it was nothing but a scary daydream. Now, run along to your classes" he smiled his grandfatherly smile to them, waving them from his office. He never saw the frown that the boys exchanged, nor did he realise that something so simple would be his downfall.

"C'mon" Hercules whispered, pulling on LJ's arm, pulling him from the office. "If he can't help us, we'll go to another teacher. We should at least try to get someone to understand."

LJ nodded, following his friend willingly from the office. Albus looked up as soon as his door closed, smiling.

'There' he thought, 'a smile and few words and they still believe me. I will call them back soon...maybe this weekend...to talk about their friendships though.'

Professor McGonagall was who they went to next. The Transfiguration teacher listened to LJ and frowned when Hercules brought up their meeting with Dumbledore.

"Can't you do anything?" LJ asked softly, his eyes impossibly large. The professor melted at the sight, shaking her head at herself in the back of her mind.

"I can see what I can do, but as you are only eleven and have not come into your powers, I am afraid there's not much I can do" Minerva told the young boys. "However I will talk to the board of governors about your chat with Professor Dumbledore. No teacher, not even the headmaster, should send away students who are clearly distressed, even if they do believe it is for a good reason."

"Thank you" Hercules smiled, glad that at least something had come of their visit to the teachers.

"Now, run along" she smiled to them, waving them out of her office in a much kinder way then Dumbledore had done. The boys stood. "I am quite sure you are meant to be in classes now."

The boys blushed, nodded and walked quickly from the room. They didn't slow down until they were outside of their classroom, Herbology, both quite out of breath by the time they had reached the greenhouse.

"Good morning boys!" Their teacher smiled in such a way that made everyone quite aware that Hercules and LJ were in trouble. "And why are you two late to class?"

"Well..." Hercules sighed, making up a story on the spot. He was quite sure neither them, nor the teacher or the class wanted to know the really reason. "We forgot the way here and somehow got trapped in one of the girl's toilets on the second floor. There was a crazy crying ghost in there two and she wouldn't let us go until we listened to why she was crying."

It was the first time Hercules had ever been glad Harry had told him about Moaning Myrtle. The ghost, though he had never met her, may be annoying but at least she had her uses.

"Hmm" the teacher glared at them for a moment, clearly searching for lies, and finally nodded when he didn't 'find' any. He nodded again. "Ok, take your seats. Be quiet."

"Yes sir, thank you sir" both boys muttered, taking the first two available seats at the end of the row, LJ next to Romulus.

"How did you come up with that story so quickly?" LJ whispered as the teacher turned back to the class, taking about the plant of the lesson.

"My great-grandfather told me about the ghost. He said that happened a lot to students so it's a good story to say if ever needed" Hercules whispered back. He raised his hand to answer the question posed by the teacher, hoping to get back into his good books. Hercules was called on and the lesson went on.

The week finished and with it came the last weekend before the holidays were to begin. Sunday found Hercules, Lily and Severus pouring over a third year Potions book, working on their apprentice project (meant to show that they understood the third year course, taking place of the exams), with LJ and Romulus working close by on their Transfiguration project, allowing Hercules to work on both subjects at once.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Snape, Mr. Gibbs."

The three boys turned at once, LJ half way through writing a word, Hercules pointing at something in one of the Potions books and Severus flipping a page. All three had the same party annoyed, partly exasperated look on their faces, stopping the sixth year for a moment. "Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall are in the headmaster's office with the Ministry of Magic and some men from the board of governments. They want you three to join them. Professor Dumbledore says that the password is 'rice cakes'.

"Right...um...thank you" Hercules frowned at the sixth year's back as the older boy walked away. "What the...?"

"Could it to about...?" LJ tapped his forehead, just noticing the ink which had dripped onto his work. "Merlin!"

Romulus chuckled, taking LJ's work from him, cleaning it up. "I don't think it's about him."

"No, no that's not..." LJ stared at Romulus for a moment, then turned back to Hercules. "Did you tell Severus?"

"Tell me what?" Severus asked at once. "Is this about the vision you wanted to talk about?" The second question was to Hercules. The Ravenclaw nodded.

"I was going to tell you but..." He bit his lap, looking around them. "Sorry."

Severus and LJ sighed at the same time, though in different tone, and nodded. Though LJ wasn't as busy as either Severus or Hercules he had seen how much his friends were going through and understood why they hadn't had time to talk about anything else.

"Guess we'd better get going then" LJ muttered after a moment, packing up. Hercules and Severus nodded. The three of them turned to Romulus and Lily who nodded.

"Yes, we'll sort the books out" Lily rolled her eyes at them. "And check out the ones we really need to work from."

"And we won't mess up the work we've done, and meet you three at dinner with everything written up, as promised" Romulus finished. The three brightened, grinning. LJ grabbed Romulus into a hug and then the three ran from the library, their bags bumping along on their backs after them.

Lily and Romulus turned to each other, sighed and rolled their eyes.

"One day though three are going to kill themselves from work" Romulus muttered.

"Let's just make sure someone is around the make sure that doesn't happen" Lily rebuked. The young werewolf nodded and the two set about at what they had promised, promising themselves that they were be around to always look after their friends, no matter what it took.

Albus Dumbledore had no idea what was going on. One moment he had been sitting peacefully, thinking deeply about the coming holidays, eating his lemon drops, and then the next Minerva had burst into his office, followed by two from the board of governors and the Minister of Magic.

Now Albus found his magic locked for the moment and the adults waiting on three first years.

"Minerva, Cornelius, I am sure this is just a simple misunder-" Albus begun.

"Don't dig yourself into a deeper hole Albus" Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic, growled at the man who had once been his headmaster. "I'm sure you know exactly what this is about."

Albus stared at the younger man, eyes quite clueless. "Enlighten me, please."

"A Mr. Hercules Potter and Mr. Leroy Gibbs came to you yesterday, about a vision Mr. Gibbs saw. You sent them away" Minerva informed him.

"Of course! The Gibbs family has never been known for magical powers, let alone Seer powers. I stand by what I said to young Leroy - I am sure it was simple a scary daydream" Albus smiled his grandfatherly smile at them. "Now, if that is all this is about -"

"Albus! This is about you turning away two children who were distressed and not even letting them explain why!" Minerva shouted at him. "And I could name many children who have magical powers no one else in their family ever had. For all you know it may Mr. Gibbs' mother who gave him the powers."

Albus stared his teacher, quite surprised by everything she had said. He ignored the small voice in the back of his head which told him that she had a point.

"Will these boys be long?" Xavier Longbottom, father of Edwin Longbottom and grandfather of Frank Longbottom. "It has been over twenty minutes."

"The three boys are apprentices - Mr. Potter and Mr. Snape have three apprenticeships while Mr. Gibbs have two. They are quite busy with their last assignments before the holidays. However I am sure they will be along as soon as possible" Minerva informed them. Xavier and the other board member, Devon Nott, raised their eyebrows and begun muttering to each other.

The door of the office flew open, showing the three first years, all of whom were out of breath from running all the way from the library. The three Ministry works looked quite surprised at the three different colours on the boy's robes.

"We apologise" Hercules begun, stopping at one of the chairs to lean on it.

"For being late" LJ finished, leaning against the side of the door. "We got slightly lost." Next to him Severus glared warily at his friend.

"That is alright" Cornelius smiled at the three. "Please, sit boys. This should only take a moment. I understand the three of you are quite busy at the moment and I'm sure you would like to get back to your work."

"Yes sir" Severus smiled tightly. "But we have lunch in a moment, so we were planning to take a break anyway."

Cornelius nodded, smiling at them as the three boys made themselves comfortable.

"Now, Professor McGonagall told me that a couple of days you came to her about a vision Mr. Gibbs had" he went on. The boy in Ravenclaw and the one in Hufflepuff nodded.

"Yes sir" the Hufflepuff said while the Ravenclaw simply nodded.

"She said that you had gone to Professor Dumbledore before her" Cornelius went on. They nodded. "And he send you away?"

"Yes sir. He was quite sure it was only a daydream I had" LJ added on, glancing at Dumbledore. "He said not to worry about it."

"Did you say anything that would make him think it was only a daydream?" Devon asked, stepping slightly closer to the boys. Both Hercules and LJ frowned, thinking back.

"No sir. I told him I had a vision. He asked if I had ever had a vision before, then said it was only a daydream and sent us away" LJ told the room. Devon nodded with a frown, stepping back and stared at Dumbledore with a deep frown.

"You didn't get to tell him what the vision was about?" Cornelius asked.

"We weren't able to tell either of the professors about what was in the vision" Hercules admitted softly. Cornelius looked surprised, Minerva apologetic and Dumbledore annoyed.

"Can you tell us about the vision itself then? And what happened when it did happen?" The Minister of Magic asked. The others in the room, even Hercules (though he is was hidden by worry), looked excited at the prospect of hearing of a vision from the person who had seen it. LJ himself glanced over to Severus, hitting his lip as he looked back at the Minister, nodding.

"Hercules had just come to breakfast with Severus and another of our friends, Caesar Malfoy. They had arrived late and I asked Hercules what had happened" LJ took a deep breath, glancing over at Severus again. The Slytherin, even though he had been told the story as they had run to the headmaster's office, looked as though he had just released what was going on. "Hercules explained why they had been late - Severus hadn't wanted to leave the dorms and Caesar asked Hercules to talk him into going to breakfast and lessons. Hercules told me that he had offered the Snapes rooms at his parent's house if they needed them. Then the vision happened." LJ glanced over at Severus again. "In the vision it was snowing and we were outside. Severus, a baby, a woman and a man were there. The man had a muggle weapon - a gun - pointed at the baby in Severus' arms...but the woman jumped in front of them and was killed when the man fired..."

"The man and woman were Severus' parents?" Cornelius guessed. LJ nodded, then went on.

"The...the man then put...he killed himself" LJ couldn't bring himself to say the words. He stared at his hands until both if them were covered, making him glance up at the two boys who were suddenly next to him. He smiled watery at them, taking a deep breath. "Severus ran into the house and the vision ended."

"I'll see my parents...die?" It was only LJ and Hercules who heard Severus' whisper. Hercules reached over, taking Severus' other hand with his free one. LJ moved his hand, covering Severus' instead of the Slytherin's covering his. The only woman in the room was the only one to notice anything. She smiled, a wishful thought turning into a vision of her own - one of the three boys, years older and unfortunately battle-worn but alive, clutching at each other and whispering words of love, just as they were doing at that moment.

"And you didn't think to ask about the vision itself?" Cornelius thundered at the two professors, breaking Minerva from her thoughts of the future, her head snapping up to stare at the Minister.

"I...was angry with Albus" she sighed, her shoulders slumping. "I honestly have no idea why I didn't ask about it."

Cornelius nodded, sending her an angry look which tuned to outrage as he turned from her to Dumbledore. "And you! How could you ignore you children - no matter what you thought! You will be called in front of the board of governors next week, where you will defend yourself, and if found guilty of this crime, you will be suspended as headmaster. Professor McGonagall, you will also be called in front of the governors, however since your crime is such less it is very likely that you will only have a warning."

"Is this really -" Dumbledore was silenced by a glare from the Minister. Cornelius went to leave the room when Hercules spoke up.

"Minister? Would I be able to speak to you about something else?" He bit his lip, hoping. Cornelius turned back and nodded, allowing Hercules to take a breath and continue. "Another of our friends, Sirius Black...he also has family problems. Could you do anything for him?"

Cornelius' face softened as he thought. "...get your friend to write a letter, explaining what his problems are, to me. I will see if there is anything I can do."

"Thank you sir" Hercules smiled, leaning back and slightly into LJ. The three boys had let go of each other's hands, allowing LJ to place an arm around Hercules' shoulders and Severus to reach over, squeezing Hercules' knee, as Cornelius walked from the room, followed by the board of governors. The office fell silent, each person within it lost in their own thoughts until the bell for lunch went.

"Come along, boys" Minerva waved the boy over to her, smiling slightly as they stood, Hercules and Severus' hands clasping around LJ's at once. "Off to lunch with you."

They nodded, disappearing from the office quicker then Minerva had thought possible. She followed after them, not even glancing back at the man she had once respected and thought of as a friend.

Albus Dumbledore stared at the closing door of his office. For the first time in years, decades really, he felt as though everything was out of his control. And he was quite correct on that.

Hercules lead his distort friends to the Ravenclaw tower, even though it was so far away from both the Great Hall and the headmaster's office. He allowed them into the dorms he shared, locked the door and grabbed the two of them into a hug, not sure what else to do. One rested on both of his shoulders and Hercules rested his own head between his two friends', all of them closing their eyes.

"Thank you" Severus whispered finally, leaning his head to the side, touching Hercules', LJ did the same on his other side, both of them finding it in themselves to wrap their arms around the boy who held them. "...for not lying to me...and for staying with me."

"Of course" LJ whispered, squeezing Severus' arm which his hand had settled.

"Always" Hercules agreed. "You'll never be alone Sev."

The young Snape buried his face deeper into Hercules' shoulder and he took deep breaths, calming himself. "Do you...do you think it's worse? Knowing what will happen...or knowing that you will have to live through it?"

"Everyone dies" Hercules whispered in his too old wisdom voice. "Some just before others."

"Your great-grandfather?" LJ guessed, pulling his head away slightly to meet Hercules' eyes. The Ravenclaw nodded.

"He was hardly old, by wizard standards - just past his 79th birthday and he looked even younger" Hercules laughed that sad laugh people had when they remember loved ones. "My father, grandfather and great-grandfather normally got confused, not just as each other but as triplets. It was only their years which told them apart! Great-grandfather had the same bright green as I, Grandfather had a lighter green and Dad had Grandmother's brown eyes. I think that people were glad I wasn't so grown up as there would then be another!"

Severus and LJ both laughed, Severus' ending in a sob. LJ pulled away slightly, coming to stand behind Severus, sandwiching him between them as the two other boys hugged him tightly to each other as Severus cried for a family he knew he would lose.

"Please, stay."

Once again neither LJ nor Hercules hesitated, this time speaking at once.

"Always, for as long as you need us."

 **If you would leave a comment, question or whatever, as long as it's good in some way! Love 'em!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here's the next chapter. It's a bit shorter then normal but I hope you guys like it all the same. It just wanted to stop then, so it did. Enjoy!**

Chapter Eight

Christmas came too soon, the three were sure of it. It felt as though they had just been given their last assignments, then it was the holidays, even though five weeks had somehow passed in that time. Still they, along with everyone else, found themselves handing in the last of their work and packing for the holidays, saying goodbye and then they were aboard the Hogwarts Express, going back home.

"Promise you'll owl every day you can Sev?" LJ asked softly as the train pulled into King's Cross. He didn't explain why and he didn't have to. "Promise us, Sev?"

"I promise but..." Severus bit his lip, looking away. He nodded, swallowing deeply. "I promise." He looked up, eyes filled with tears. Both his friends reached out, pulling him into a long hug as the train stopped on the platform. "And you...you'll both alright, correct? I don't need to worry about you, do I?"

LJ and Hercules laughed at the joke, LJ cuffing Severus on the head and Hercules pushing him away. They laughed, of course, because it was better to laugh then cry, and turned away quickly from each other, Hercules almost running from the compartment because, no matter how much he felt he could control himself, he didn't want to test it. He didn't look back, knowing if he did he would turn and pull Severus away from his family; away from the future they all knew would come; away from the pain Severus would face at the hands of one of the people who should care for him the most.

"Hercules!"

Instead Hercules plastered a fake smile on his face and greeted his own parents, hugging her mother tightly, then his father, making sure to keep his face away from their eyes until he was sure all the tears had disappeared from his eyes.

"We have wonderful news, son!" His father grinned down at him. "Your mother's pregnant!"

Hercules' thoughts stopped. He turned to stare at his mother, how looked as though she had just begun to show, though to most it would only look as though she had put on a bit o weight. He kept on staring at her stomach. "Pregnant?"

"You're going to be a big brother!" His mother grinned, pulling him into another hug. Hercules had to grin, because no matter what, the joy of his parents was infectious. Inside he was shocked. His mother was pregnant...he would be a big brother again... She would bring a child into a world of war...

"Wow" he whispered, smiling at his parents, because it was aspected. "I'm going to be a big brother..." Just like Severus...

No, he wouldn't think about that now. Now he needed to be happy for his parents, but somehow he just couldn't be...

"Come on, son! We agreed to wait until you were home to go out for a celebration dinner. As the new big brother, you chose where we go!"

Hercules grinned at his father, though he wasn't too sure how good it was as his father's smile dropped, as did his mother's.

"Hercules, what's wrong?" His mother asked softly, touching his arm.

"Nothing...I'm just tired" he tried a smile again, feeling it was better then the one before. "Can we just go home tonight? And go out tomorrow or some other night?"

"Of course! You had a long journey!" His mother shock her head, smiling. "Of course we can stay home tonight. Come along then."

His father took his trunk, his mother took the owl cage and together the three of them walked from the magical platform. Hercules caught a glance of silver hair and blue eyes before LJ was gone; a group of people with long black hair and pale skin who he knew to be the Snapes, including an older man with an angry look in his eye. Before Hercules could say anything, to either friend, his parents had pushed him their the barrier into the muggle world.

LJ wasn't too sure what he aspected when he saw his father. Maybe anger at what he had heard through Felix's letters; maybe love and hugs as had been quite normal; maybe a smiling greeting but no hug, as what was normal between Felix and their dad since the older boy had been off to Hogwarts. What he didn't aspect, though, was his sisters with around his father and the man looking all his years and older.

"Dad, what's wrong? What's the girls doing here?"

LJ hadn't even noticed Felix joining them, and for once the two brothers put aside their feelings for each other, forcing on their father.

"Your mother..." Jackson Gibbs shock his head, smiling at his children. "My boys...finally home..."

"What about Mum?" Felix, always the Gryffindor, butted it. Their father's face fell again and even 1 year old Holly Gibbs knew it had been the wrong question to ask.

"Your mother...my..." He couldn't even say her name and at once LJ rushed forward, grabbing his father into a hug. He may not to a Ravenclaw but he was hardly stupid. Though he had no idea what, he knew something must have happened to their mother. Jack stumbled slightly, letting out a small noise as his youngest son landed on him, but he hugged the boy back tightly.

"My sons...my boys" he reached out to Felix and, for once, the older boy allowed his father to pull him into a hug. He didn't even comment when LJ's hair turned a bright silver-blue colour, knowing it wasn't the right time and that their father needed them at the moment.

"Dad...we should go home" LJ muttered softly. "It looks like Alice and Holly are quite tired too."

Jack looked over at his youngest girls and smiled, nodding. The three males pulled away from other, the students going to pick up their luggage, then followed their dad and younger sisters from the platform.

"What happened?" Felix asked their eldest sister, Hannah, as they walked.

"Mum...mum died" Hannah whispered, keeping her eyes on their father's back. "It happened a couple of months ago but Dad hasn't been the same since then."

LJ and Felix exchanged a glance.

"October?" They both asked. Hannah nodded, her eight year old face looking older then it should.

"Since then he's been...well, he's just been in the shop all day. I had to remind him about feeding Holly and I had to dress Alice for the last week! I have no idea what they've been doing for lunch but on the weekend I've ended up making food at lunch. Alice hasn't said anything so I think Dad's been doing it during the week though" Hannah ranted.

Her brothers stared at her. Felix begun forward, most likely to shout at their father, but LJ stopped him with a hand on his brother's arm.

"Has he talked to anyone about mum?" He asked Hannah, glancing to their father. She shock her head.

"He hasn't been out of the house or shop since he came home from the funeral. Some people came around but none of them came inside" she frowned. "He...it's kinda like what Mr. Poss did when his wife died, before he...oh my god! You don't think Dad'll try to..."

"No!" Both brothers shouted at once, looking at each other, surprised. The three of them glanced over to their father.

"No...but we should make sure he talks with someone" Felix said in a low voice. "I think he might be depressed."

LJ nodded while Hannah frowned, staring at Felix until he explained. LJ smiled slightly at the completely Gryffindor answer his brother gave, which only stood to confuse their sister even more.

"It's when someone's really sad and fell like they can't do anything right. If it gets worse it can make them question everything, even why they live" LJ explained when Hannah turned to him. She gasped, turning to stare at their father. He and their sisters had stopped by the car, clearly waiting for the older of the children to hurry up.

"But Dad...we can't let them happen to him..."

LJ pulled Hannah close to him, feeling much older then his was, smiling when Felix also joined them in the hug, the three elder Gibbs children united by their family.

"We'll make sure it never does" Felix muttered, LJ nodding along with him, for no matter what age children are, none could imagine life without their father.

Severus knew his homecoming wasn't going to be a happy one. He got a hug from his mother, and one from the siblings who had come, and good graced joking from Paloma and Radford, then...well, then his father appeared.

Tobias Snape wasn't a nice man by any means of the word, nor was he a good father and husband. Not anymore at least. Severus shock his head of the images of a happier time, before Paloma had received her Hogwarts letter, before their father had turned into the man he was now.

"Soooo" the Snape man slurred, glaring drunkly at his older three children and wife. "Ya're back." He looked each of them over and snorted when his eyes reached Severus. "Well, you know the rules - up ta ya 'ooms! Get!" He made to swing at them with his beer bottle, not even coming close but Radford still ducked, running after Paloma to their rooms. Severus stayed back, making sure to round my the younger children before taking them all up to the rooms, including the newest baby of the group.

"I'll get you food as soon as he's asleep" Eileen, the Snape mother, whispered to Severus as he passed to the stairs. He smiled slightly to her with a tiny nod. Behind him Tobias grumbled, glaring at the backs of his children until they were out of sight. It was only then that Severus let out a breath of relief, hugging the baby in his arms close to his chest.

"He was born just after you went to Hogwarts" Jadzia, one of the twins and only a year younger then Severus himself, muttered. "Mum had to hide him from Dad for the first couple months but he was really nice with her the last few months of her pregnancy."

Severus nodded, quite used to the strange behaviour of their father. "Does he have a name?"

Eillionoir, Jadzia's twin, shock her head. "Mum hasn't been around enough to name him, or tell us about the name if she gave him one. Is that normal?"

Severus nodded sadly. Ever since Halsey had been born, five years ago, those older had been naming their siblings. Severus himself had named the two boys twins - Carlton and Caesar - and their three year older sister, Pandora. For some reason he was the one to come up with the names most of the time, also normally the one to look after the others for longer.

"What do you think?" He asked the twins, smiling at their shocked faces. "What should we call him?"

The twins stared at him for a moment later, then exchanged looks.

"Well...we were thinking..." Eillionoir blushed slightly, biting her lip as she went off, looking to her twin to explain.

"Tacitus" Jadzia smiled. Severus looked surprised but smiled, looking down at the child in his arms.

"Tacitus Snape" he muttered, smiling at his sister's again. "Welcome to the family."

The Snape children got three days of peace. Three days when they could forget their father was in the house, that at any point in time he could storm upstairs and find them and...punish them for anything, everything. Three days, all of which Paloma, Radford and Severus spend either on homework or contacting their friends, making sure they knew they were alive and well. Three days in which Jadzia and Eillionoir kept the younger ones from downstairs and made sure none of them made a noise, were fed and cared for. The girls were normally found in Tacitus' new room (what had been Severus' room until he got his Hogwarts letter and was then forced to share with Radford), surrounded by the other children, reading stories between meal times.

"Is it wrong that I think of some of them more as my own children then my brothers and sisters?" Severus asked softly on the second day, watching from the doorway with a soft smile on his face. By him stood Paloma and Radford, both of them with the same soft smile on their own faces.

"Hardly" Paloma whispered back. "Nathan's first word was 'Mama'. It broke my heart that he was staring and holding his arms up to me at the time."

"Pandora did the same" Radford muttered. "She had a nightmare one summer night while the rest of you were out and she snuck into my room and into my bed. I held her until she calmed and she feel asleep muttering 'Daddy'."

Severus sighed, smiling as he peered around the doorway again. Abbott, the next oldest after the girl twins at eight, glanced up at the same time and grinned at him from where he sat, five year old Halsey asleep on one shoulder and four year old Zaire with his head in Abbott's lap.

"We should get back to our homework" Radford whispered sadly. "We have no idea how long this will last and I at least do not want to be rushing on the train and first week back."

Severus and Paloma nodded and the three tip-toed back to their rooms, back to their work.

When the letters from Severus stopped on the fourth day of the holidays Hercules knew LJ's vision had come to past. He found himself ladened down by the knowledge, even after he told his parents. The Potters went apart their day, all of them dealing with the news in their own way, yet none of them were surprised when, just after six that night, the Knight Bus turned up outside the Potter Castle's gates and a large number of dark haired children came from it, Severus included.

"Oh you poor things!" Diana Potter cooed at once, pulling the younger ones into the castle, waving in the older ones. "Come, Hercules told us about his friend's vision. There are rooms set up for each of you."

"Thank you" many of the Snapes whispered back. Paloma smiled her first smile since Severus had run to her that evening, nodding her thanks as Diana took Tacitus from her. Edward, the Potter father, quickly followed his wife, taking the next oldest Snapes from Radford.

"I'll show you around" Hercules promised them. "You should wash up at the moment. The house-elves have just finished dinner, as normal with more needed for the three of us."

"You are too kind, Hercules Potter" Paloma stated solemnly, trying another smile at the friend of her brother. "Thank you for offering us rooms."

"You're Severus' family" Hercules told her in such a sample way, the way his great-grandfather had taught down the family to him. "Mum said you're welcome to the rooms for as long as you need them. You will always have a home here."

That, it seemed, was too much for the older Snape children as it was only a second later that they were clinging to Hercules', all crying softly. Hercules, though surprised, hugged the three back, simply holding them as he had done many times to Severus, LJ and his family in his past life.

"I'm sorry" Paloma muttered, pulling away. She blushed and ran to the house, finally acting her fifteen years. Radford followed her, his face even brighter red. Severus let out a wet chuckle at his siblings' actions, wrapping his arms tighter around Hercules. The young Ravenclaw tightened his arms around the Slytherin, resting their heads close together.

"Can I sleep with you tonight?" Severus whispered suddenly. They had done the same the night they had been called to the headmaster's office - it still surprised them that no one had said anything about the Hufflepuff and Slytherin who had appeared in the Ravenclaw common room the next morning.

"Of course" Hercules answered. They unwrapped one arm from each other, Hercules leading Severus to his rooms with an arm around the Slytherin's shoulders, Severus' own arm around Hercules' waist.

From the living room windows Diana and Edward Potter watched their son with the older of the Snape children.

Unlike what Hercules thought his parents weren't stupid to their child's change. They knew that the boy dying of dragon pox and the boy who had woken and recovered were two quite different people. It had taken some time to get used to but in the end they had agreed to say nothing, simply because they had fallen in love with the boy who was now their son. The child was as much their son as the child they had known before him. They weren't so stupid to ignore the gift of their child's life which was right in front of them.

However there were times when they just couldn't ignore the differences.

The boy Diana had bore was a shy quite boy who preferred the library and books to any type of company. He didn't have any friends and hardly ever saw anyone apart from his parents and their odd friend to their house.

That child, though he would have been sorted into Ravenclaw, would have been nothing like the boy they watched at that moment. He would have never had friends in his house, let alone two friends of completely different houses. As sad as it was, they were sure their child wouldn't even have known the names of anyone in his classes, unless he was to work with them for an extended project.

As much as the two children were different the Potter parents couldn't be happier for the difference. Neither of them knew how to be around their son before, with such limited social experience. They were sure the boy would have stayed in the shadows his whole life, yet never watching or watched.

Their new boy, though, came with trouble. His parents could feel it in their bones. A child who had brought together the four Hogwarts houses in less then a month, and was planning, that was clear enough to them. He would be great, they knew, he would change the world. And that worried the Potters, for the wizarding world was shaky, so shaky, they were sure one more blow would destroy it. Yet they could do nothing but sit back and hope and wish their child knew what he was doing.

 **Leave a comment please!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Another short chapter, sorry. I'm hoping that it'll get easier to get things out now. Anyway if anyone can guess who's the person at the end of the chapter, I'll try to get the next chapter out before Monday!**

 **On another note I'm back at school so that means I'll be busier then I was during holidays, so it's unlikely I'll get more then one chapter out per week.**

 **Enjoy though!**

Chapter Nine

The first day after the Snapes arrived found Hercules and Severus staying in their room, the two boys curled around each other. Hercules only moved to call for house-elves, making sure that both himself, Severus and the rest of the family - for that was what he had begun to think of the Snapes as - had eaten.

The second day Severus begun to move, still not venturing from the bedroom but he did sat, talking softly with Hercules as the Ravenclaw spoke if anything, everything but family. He even helped write two letters - one to LJ and the other to Jane-Paul Malfoy. They had both agreed that they had put off The Truth long enough, with all of their homework. Now they had time on their hands and they found it an easy project to lose themselves in.

On the third day Severus and Hercules stirred to knocking on their door just as light begun to shin through the curtains. They woke, hours later, to find Nathan curled between them. None of them had noticed Diana take many a picture of the cute sight they made. That day Nathan stayed with them, curled just as a cat would in Severus' arms until lunch, when he disappeared, allowing the older boys time for their newspaper work.

On the four day LJ arrived, followed by three young girls and their suitcases, clearly there to stay the rest of the holidays.

"Hercules! Hercules Edwin Potter get down here this minute! You have a friend waiting, quite patiently I should say!" Diana shouted up to her son. A moment later Hercules' confused face appeared at the top of the third floor landing, staring down at LJ and the Gibbs girls.

"LJ! What are you doing here?" Hercules grinned as he ran down the stairs, Severus close behind him. The three boys embraced each other, LJ's forehead knocking against Severus' and Hercules' arm found itself trapped between two bodies. They laughed, pulling away.

"Dad...well, Felix got Dad admitted to a hospital but they said we can't stay with him, since... So Felix jumped on the first bus here, staying with friends in Wales I think. Since the girls don't have anywhere to go, I'd hope we could stay here" LJ asked, big pleading eyes staring up at Diana. The Potter mother caved at once, for no one could stand any longer looking at those eyes.

"Of course" she grinned at the Gibbs'. "Now, let's see...LJ, was it?"

"Leroy Jethro, ma'am, but I don't like that name" LJ explained. "Oh and...well, normally Herc, Sev and I share a room now, ever since..." LJ went off, glancing at Severus, then the floor. Diana nodded, smiling in understanding.

"Of course" she said again. "And who are you three?" She smiled at the girls.

"Hannah Ann, ma'am" the oldest smiled, holding onto her younger two sisters. "This is Alice Georgia and Holly Joy."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Diana Potter, Hercules' mother. Now, come along children, I'll show you to your rooms" she waved them along, leaving the three friends in front of the door.

"How have you been Severus?" LJ asked softly, nervously, biting his lip. The Slytherin shrugged, looking down slightly.

"Alright" he muttered. "Herc's been making me eat and sure I move around but...this is the first time I've been out of the room since we got here."

LJ's eyes softened, then he smiled. "Well, I guess I'd better help you then! C'mon! We promised Lucius we'd do this!"

Hercules and Severus exchanged a look, Hercules smiling at their friend's clear (at least to him) try at ignoring the elephant in the room. Severus rolled his eyes and the two followed LJ up the stairs. The Hufflepuff had stopped at the top of the first stairs, a silly look on his face. He rubbed at the back of his neck, looking embarrassed. The other boys laughed and after a while LJ joined in. It was nice to be back, the three of them together, even if it had only been a couple of days since they had last seen each other.

Lucius had promised his uncle that his would visit, so he, his parents and siblings found themselves in France during Christmas. It was during that time that a letter arrived from a Hercules Potter, along with what looked like the first article of a newspaper. It had arrived during breakfast, causing many eyebrow raises from, though Lucius had nodded to himself, acting as though he had no idea what it was for his own sake. Afterwards he snuck away to his uncle's study.

"Uncle?"

Jane-Paul glanced at the door, smiling at his nephew and waved the teenager in. "Lucius. Close the door, please. I trust you know what this is about?" He pointed to the letter and newspaper. "As you were the one to introduce us?"

Lucius nodded, rolling his eyes slightly. Still, even after so many years, his uncle's war patterns had not dimmed even slightly. "Yes I know about the newspaper. Is that the first article?"

Jane-Paul hummed, nodding at the same time. "We agreed that they would write the articles and I everything else. It should be ready by the end of the week, as long as I have the time. It was so long between letters I had thought something had happened to you boys."

"Simply end of the term" Lucius smiled. "Hercules, Severus and LJ have apprenticeships in more then one subject."

Jane-Paul's white eyebrows shot up, almost hiding in his hair. "Well, I wish the boys the best with those, and of course you with your own exams. Now, run along, I have work to do."

Lucius smiled again as he did as his uncle asked, watched the older man for a moment from the doorway. He had seen the way Jane-Paul's eyes had lit up at the thought of something, someone, knew. He was sure he had made the right choice, introducing the first years to his uncle, as all five of them (Lucius included) needed something from the other.

Minerva McGonagall stared sadly at the man who she had once looked up to, her old headmaster and the man she had once thought could do no wrong. From a young eleven year old she had grown quite a lot and learned, though she found it hard, that Albus Dumbledore was indeed human and just as good or bad as she was. He was no god, no matter how much he thought he was doing the best for the world.

Still, watching the man chained to the chair in the Ministry of Magic suddenly brought her to her thoughts. She watched silently as the charges were read, then he was allowed to defend himself, then he was charged. Twenty years in Azakaban, and for a man of Albus' age that was most likely the rest of his life.

"Minerva McGonagall will be appointed the Headmistress of Hogwarts" Cornelius Fudge went on, nodding to her. Minerva nodded back, no matter what her thoughts were on the matter. It was her job, she had known that from the moment she had agreed to be Albus' deputy. "The other positions Dumbledore once held will be stripped from him and dictated to those who should have them as soon as possible. Take him away!"

Minerva turned away. There was never any pleasure for her to see a guilty man dragged away, no matter what the crime, no matter who the person. She stood quickly from her seat and descended the stairs to the door, thoughts already on the changes she would have to make to Hogwarts.

"Minerva!"

She kept in the growl at the voice which sliced through her thoughts, turning with a raised eyebrow at the Minister of Magic. "Is there something I can do for you Minister? I am quite busy, as you may guess."

The Minister had the decency to look embarrassed with a smile and a nod. "Of course, of course. I was only hoping that, once you are not so busy of course, we could talk. From what I have heard from the Board of Governors there are a few things they would like to change, one especially regarding your history professor."

Minerva smiled and nodded. "I quite remember. It is on my list. Good day Minister, I will owl you when I have time to talk."

Cornelius nodded and walked away Minerva turning the other way, both their thoughts on the coming future and how much everything would change, and, of course as it is only normal, they wondered what it would bring.

As soon as Minerva returned to Hogwarts she called all of the teachers, even those on holiday, to her office. It annoyed many but they all understood why she needed them.

"Fillius, will you become my Deputy?" She asked the next longest serving teacher. The small Charms professor nodded happily. She looked at the rest of the faces, thinking quickly. "Astoria, will you be the head of Gryffindor's house? For now I like keep the Transfiguration classes until time when someone else can take them over."

The others nodded, both Fillius and Astoria (Quill - the teacher of Divination) looking happily with their new responsibilities, and left Minerva to her new office and her thoughts.

As soon as the door closed three owls flew into the office, each of them dropping an envelop on the desk before flying off again. Minerva frowned, staring at each new letter. The Board of Governors, the Minister of Magic and the Department of Education. She sighed, opening the first.

Clearly this would take some time.

The inhabitants of Potter Castle woke to the surprising news that Albus Dumbledore had been removed and jailed, leaving Minerva McGonagall to take his place as Headmistress of Hogwarts.

"Wow" Radford muttered as he read the newspaper headline over Hercules' shoulder. "They got something to stick!"

Severus, LJ and Hercules exchanged a look which was missed by the other children but not by the Potter parents. Edward opened his mouth to ask what the three eleven year olds knew, only to be elbowed by his wife.

"Do you think it'll be different when we go back?" LJ asked, hoping to keep the conversation off why and how Dumbledore had been caught.

"Of course it will be" Paloma smiled to the young Hufflepuff. "Dumbledore has been Headmaster for years and was Transfiguration teacher before then. Every headteacher is different and I'm sure it will be strange for the first few months at least with Professor McGonagall in the chair."

Radford nodded in agreement. "Though McGonagall is fairer then Dumbledore was. Hopefully she'll be able to do something about the Gryffindor-Slytherin problem. Not that it's any problem for you three and the rest of your friends."

Hercules nodded, deep in thought, while LJ and Severus smiled to each other.

"What did he do?"

And so the conversation turned into darker waters.

James Potter stared at the newspaper in front of him in shock, not even hearing as his younger brothers ran around the kitchen or his mother shouting at them, not even his father calling his name.

"JAMES!"

James jumped, staring at his father with wide eyes. "Sorry...did you say something dad?"

Charles Potter frowned at his eldest son. "Are you alright son? You haven't touched your food since you saw the newspaper."

"Dumbledore's been thrown in prison" James blurted. Charles stared and the kitchen even went quiet for a moment before the Potter mother and younger kids came into the living room.

"What? Let me -" Charles reached for the paper and James passed it over at once, watching as his father read the news over with a deep frown on his face. "Well, that proves it! Look, right there - a Slytherin and a Ravenclaw were involved in this! Clearly some evil plot!"

"Charles" James' mother, Dorea, begun softly, glancing to the children. Charles ignored her.

"Now, children, make sure you don't say a word of this to anyone" he told his sons. "We mustn't let them know we know they're planning something."

The three boys nodded, quite seriously, and Dorea watched on helplessly.

For some time she had known something had changed within her husband. His hate of Slytherins and the Dark was so much above anyone else's, even forgetting that his own wife and in-laws had been in Slytherin, something must have happened to him. And she knew she had to stop it before it harmed her or her children.

Regulus Black didn't know what to think about the news his cousins, brother, aunt and uncle were talking about. At nine he didn't really understand everything they talked about, and because of that they ignored him, making it even easier to listen in on conversations. So he sat silently at the breakfast table and simply listened to everything going on around him.

"Thank Merlin!" His aunt.

"I only hope this Minerva McGonagall is better then Dumbledore ever was!" His uncle.

"Of course she won't be! She was in Gryffindor!" His aunt again.

"She's the Gryffindor head of house! She horrible!" Bellatrix, his cousin.

"She's not! She just knows how to act to slimy Slytherins!" Sirius, his brother. Regulus sighed softly, rolling his eyes as he begun to eat again. When the family was like this it was clear he weren't learn anything important. Surprisingly though Narcissa stayed quite, though she had stopped joining in those types of shouting matches since she begun dating Lucius. If only for that Regulus liked the white haired older boy.

"I'll talk to the Board of Governors! They must be able to do something about this! We can't have another Gryffindor headteacher!" His uncle stood as he spoke, walking quickly from the room. Regulus rolled his eyes again, smiling slightly as the table turned quiet as soon as the man of the house had disappeared.

"Are you finished Regulus?"

Soft grey eyes snapped up to Narcissa's light blue eyes. He nodded, pushing his plate away slightly. It disappeared and the two children stood, Narcissa taking Regulus' arm and led him to her bedroom.

"You are hardly as stupid as we think, are you Regulus?"

The little boy smiled up at her, innocence that only a child could show. Narcissa didn't buy it for a moment, and so she told the child of her and Lucius' plan. Regulus listened with rapt attention - finally, something interesting.

Lily Evens had been visiting the Lupins when they got the news. The two Gryffindors and one Ravenclaw had stopped eating at once, staring at the newspaper in surprise and shock.

"Dumbledore's gone?" Remus whispered, looking between Romulus and their father. John Lupin stared back, quite coldly in Lily's opinion. "But what...will McGonagalk allow us back?"

"Why won't she?" Lily asked at once. Remus snapped his mouth shut, staring down at his cereal.

"Remus and I are werewolves" Romulus answered instead. Lily's eyes widened, glancing between the two brothers with her mouth quite open. John snarled, suddenly sounding much more like a werewolf then his sons ever had, and stormed from the room. The brothers watched him go with worried expressions.

"Dad...he doesn't like being reminded. That's why we only live with him when the full moons nowhere near" Remus explained softly.

"Oh...I'm sorry" Lily muttered. "I didn't mean..."

The boys waved her off.

"It's ok Lily just...don't tell anyone, please?" Romulus begged. Lily nodded and promised.

"Of course. Who'd believe me anyway?"

The joke was weak but it caused a chuckle and soon the three children were laughing and joking together again, the newspaper forgotten.

That night a storm came into being. It shock trees and houses, with rain pelting against the ground so hard to break through, and winds creating a path, knocking anything out of its way. It raged for hours, and suddenly cut off. Has anyone been awake in a lone forest in Wales they would have seen a large strip of lightening hit the ground, leaving a man lying on the forest floor, blood around him.

 **Please leave a comment, and a guess of course! :)**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, sorry for the wait for this chapter. Been swamped by assignments. Hope it's worth the wait though :)**

 **As always, please leave a comment at the end :)**

Chapter Ten

Robert Wilson was out in his family's woods, hunting, when he found the bleeding man in a clearing. He checked and cleaned the man's wounds before carrying him back to the house. He bathed and bandaged the man's wounds and placed him in the guest's room.

Three days later, while the Wilson family and Felix Gibbs were eating lunch, their guest stumbled into the dinning room.

"Ah! Finally - I had begun to think you might never wake!" Robert grinned, jumping up. "How are you?"

"Fine...head's pounding. What's...who are you?" The man looked through squinted eyes at each of them behind his hand. "Where am I?"

"I am Robert Wilson. This is my wife, Amelia, and our five children - William, Chris, Emily, Michael and Annie. Chris' friend Felix is also staying here" Robert introduced. "And who are you?"

"Hercules Potter" the man answered with a sigh.

"No your not! Hercules Potter is a friend of my brother's in first year" Felix snapped. The man blinked, then smiled.

"So he got here too, good" he muttered, then raised his voice. "He was named after me - I am his great-grandfather."

Felix nodded though everyone looked surprised at the man. He hardly looked any older then thirty; even for a wizard that was usual.

"Is there anything you were like? Food? Clothes? Drink?" Robert asked. Hercules nodded with a smile.

"Yes please, to all of them" he answered. "I will be leaving soon, so please, don't let me interrupt your meal. Thank you for healing my wounds and allowing me a place to heal though."

"You're welcome" Robert smiled, put off by the strange man he had saved. "But surely you aren't well enough to travel? I just pulled lead from close to your heart!"

But Hercules just waved his question off with a smile. "I will be fine. I would like to leave as soon as possible; if you could allow me to take some food, drink and a day's clothes, I will be fine."

Robert nodded, stunned, but walked off to find what the man had asked for. He gave Hercules a pair of his trousers and shoes as well as a top and warm robe, then packed a bag with enough food and water for a week. He gave it all to Hercules and watched with a confused frown as the man walked from the house, disappearing - with no wand in hand! - at the edge of the house.

"Darling? Are you alright?" Amelia called to him.

"Yes, yes, of course Amelia" Robert muttered softly, patting her hand, moving both of them back into the house. For some reason he felt that he had just witnessed something very important.

Harry re-appeared on the outskirts of Potter Castle, his eyes closed as he simply felt the people within the castle. Two adults were in the living room, one had a small child within her. Other children were dotted about the castle, most younger the eleven, but it didn't take much time for Harry to find his great-grandson and his two friends. He raised an eyebrow at the two signatures - one which he knew to be Severus Snape, and the other a younger sibling of the boy from the other house - Felix Gibbs if he remembered correctly.

The three were in a bedroom, working over something in the middle of the three of them. He smiled as he watched Hercules write something, the Gibbs boy laugh and Severus reach over, correcting him about something. Clearly the three were close.

Clearly they didn't need him.

Harry's smile dropped, his did his head and shoulders. He nodded to himself after a moment, closing his eyes. Of course he should have known that would happen at some point in time - Hercules was growing, becoming his own self. Of course he had also spent around year and a half thinking that Harry was dead, and had therefore become part of this time, and closer to those around him because of it.

Harry sighed and nodded to himself again. He turned again and disappeared just as, on the top floor of the closest rooms, Hercules glanced out and frowned. For a moment he had been sure he had felt his great-grandfather's magic and mind. Not that it was possible - Hercules Potter the first was dead - there was no way he could have come back in time with Hercules the second, and no amount of wishful thinking would change that.

Minerva frowned as she looked over the list which had been thrown down in front of her. It was a list of student, with some written in different colours. She looked up, eyebrows raised at Fillius, Cornelius and Percival Malfoy. The three men stood in front of her desk, each with folders of paperwork.

"The names in black are the students already here" Percival explained in his soft tone. Minerva's eyebrows rose even more as she glanced over the names again. Those in black were in tiny percent of the rest of the names.

"And the others?" She promoted.

"Those in blue are full magical creatures which, under the current laws of the Ministry, can not even walk into Hogwarts. We plan on changing that though, as you already have two werewolves" Percival went on, exchanging a look with the Minister. Cornelius nodded in agreement. "We can not find any reason, other then the laws agreed by Albus Dumbledore and others, as to way they should not be here."

Minerva nodded. It had been a problem she had also seen as soon as Albus had agreed to allow the Lupin twins into Hogwarts.

"In red are the half creatures" Fillius picked up, glancing her to look over to him. "Any person less then a pure being, no matter how much less. Again, the Ministry have said that they can find no reason as to why these children have not be allowed."

Minerva nodded once again, looking back to the list again. There were two colours left - green and orange.

"As it turns out the Department of Mysteries have been watching a certain group of muggles for centuries. These muggles have what they call ESP - natural powers such as telepathy, empathy, Seer powers etc. However they are not witches or wizards but in the muggle world they are normally either put into insane asylums or they ignore their gift to live 'normal' lives" Cornelius told her. "I have already talked with other races and they have agreed that if these children are allowed into Hogwarts, they will train them along with other classes we will add for those not able to do our type of magic. They are the names in green."

Minerva nodded, thinking for a moment, then stopped as Percival begun speaking again.

"The names in orange are squibs. The Department of Mysteries has done many studies on squibs and it has been found that, with the correct training, they can do our magic. They could also come into their powers through another gift, such as the ESP muggles have. Either way they can come here to learn and train. They, of course, are in orange."

Minerva nodded once again, looking down at the list again. There were so many names... "If all of these children are planned to arrive at Hogwarts we will need to change the dormitories...and everything else. Hogwarts was never built for so many students."

The three men nodded, as though they had for-thought Minerva pointing that out.

"If the students do arrive it will not be until next year, so we will have few months to plan what will do" Cornelius consoled with a smile. "There will be many changes in the long run, Minerva. With this many students you will also need more teachers."

Minerva nodded and sighed. Though she was sure it had been for the best that Albus had gone, it would have made for much less paperwork had he still been there. Still, she was sure that, in the end, it would be worth it.

"Of course" she muttered to Cornelius' statement. "Gentlemen, I am quite busy at the moment. Is there anything else that you needed?"

"One more thing" Percival promised with a smile, placing another piece of parchment in front of her. She frowned, picking it up. It was written in Latin, dated the time of the Founders. "When Hogwarts first opened they brought children to learn and train from the age of eight. It was changed because many muggle-born parents wanted their children to have a muggle education before coming to Hogwarts, therefore the age was changed to eleven to reflect the same age when muggle children go from primary school to secondary. We wish to change this back."

"Why?" Minerva asked, looking up. Percival took a deep breath, glancing to Cornelius as he did.

"We wish to add muggle subjects into Hogwarts for everyone" he said bravely. Minerva stared. She wasn't the only one - both Cornelius and Fillius were staring at Percival as though they had never seen the man before. The Malfoy man stood tall, head high and kept his eyes on only Minerva. Minerva glanced over to Cornelius, then back to Percival.

"I will have to think about all of this" she said finally after a moment. "Perhaps we could talk together again on Sunday? I should be less busy then."

The men nodded, agreeing, and the all left. Minerva let a breath as the door closed behind Fillius, leaning back in her chair.

Creatures at Hogwarts; muggles at Hogwarts, even if they did have powers; squibs at Hogwarts; muggle and creature subjects at Hogwarts...everything was changing so quickly. She had no idea what to think.

Well, at least this would solve the problem of the Lupin twins and the coming years. She nodded in herself. Yes, she would listen to the ideas and would try to bring most of them into practice. Cornelius had been right - a lot of things would be changing in the next few years.

LJ stared at the paper, his buttered toast half way to his mouth.

"You'll drop that if you're not careful."

"What?" LJ snapped, head spinning around to stare at Hercules. Half of his toast dropped onto the plate under it. Hercules smirked, nodding to it. LJ spun back around, frowning on his toast, then huffed and shock his head, remembering the paper. "Herc, you and Sev should see this. It's the plans for the coming years at Hogwarts. Listen to this - 'We plan to bring those wronged by Albus Dumbledore into our fold. Of course we will allow for all cultures and listens to be taught at Hogwarts for the coming years. If you have any ideas of changes please do connect us.' And this - 'There has also been talk of muggle subjects being added to Hogwarts' curriculum, along with any other subjects which other beings teach their young.' Can you believe this?"

"Really?" Hercules leaned over LJ's shoulder, reading the paper just as Severus came into the room carrying Tacitus. He came up on Hercules' side, reading the paper himself as he tried to steal LJ's toast. The young Hufflepuff slapped his hand away, making each of them grin.

"Muggle subjects?" Severus exclaimed after a moment of looking at the paper. "This is all because Dumbledore's gone? He really had that much power to stop all of this?"

LJ shrugged and Hercules nodded.

"Well" Hercules grinned. "Looks like The Truth might be doing a bit of this." He pointed to the paper, quite low down on the page. "'Percival Malfoy has been noted thanking the authors of the new newspaper, The Truth, including his son Jean-Paul Malfoy. He is glad to have had his eyes opened to the truth of the wizarding world.'"

"Wow" LJ whispered. "We did this." He stared up at Hercules and Severus, his golden eyes gleaming with proud tears.

"It looks like we did" Severus grinned. Hercules smiled happily, hugging his friends.

He had done it. The first step - he had done just as he and his great-grandfather had planned.

The morning of Christmas found Hercules, Severus ad LJ woken by Alice, Pandora, Zaire and Nathan. The four children had woken at five in the morning and went straight to their brother's rooms and jumped on the eleven year olds, waking them at once. It started an impromptu chase around the castle, waking everyone else.

The Potters, Gibbses and Snapes ended up in the living room, all eating breakfast as the younger kids ripped into their presents. Paloma, Radford, Severus, Hercules and LJ sat close together, laughing at their younger siblings. Tears filled each of their eyes as Tacitus came over, toy broom in his hands.

"Daddy! Papa! Da! Look'it!"

Hercules, Severus and LJ exchanged a look before they each knelt in front of Tacitus, cooing over the boy who they had come to think of more as a son then younger brother. Across the room Edward placed a hand over his wife's mouth before she was able to say anything.

"They should not think of him as their son" Diana whispered harshly to Edward. "They're only eleven!"

"They are the only adults he has to look up to" Edward whispered back. "And they love him just as any parent loves their children. Just watch them, love. If the three of them stay friends I think we would all be quite surprised."

Diana nodded slowly, looking across to the three eleven year olds. Severus was laughing at something Tacitus was showing him, the boy flying around with his hands out, running into Hercules. The boy wrapped his arms tightly around Tacitus until the toddler got to his feet, the younger boy keeping his little fists on Hercules' shirt for a moment, then he was off again. Hercules grinned, leaning against LJ, his hand going out at once to find Severus' hand. LJ grinned, playing with Hercules hair as he watched Holly, Carlton and Caesar play with toy dragons on the floor.

Yes, she could see what Edward meant. Still, they were too young to fell something so deeply. But they did look good together...

A soft kick made itself known. She gasped, hand going to her stomach. She smiled, taking Edward's hand and placed it when she had felt the kick. Another came and they grinned to each other. It seemed their other baby was happy too.

Hercules glanced over to his parents from his place between Severus and LJ. He grinned when he saw them smiling happily to each other. Surrounded by his family and friends, he couldn't think of a better Christmas.

It was then that he promised himself he would fight. He would fight to keep this - and he would make sure that, in twenty or thirty years, Christmas would still be as brilliant as the one he was having at the moment.

Through a Seer mirror Harry Potter smiled sadly at the image of his family, for that was what they were now. His mind went back to his own family, when he had been surrounded by them, in happiness and joy, even in war. He traced Hercules' young face with a bitter-sweet smile.

No, his great-grandson didn't need him at the moment; but he would be there, helping from the shadows. He would make sure Hercules and his family made it through this - whatever may happen.


	12. Chapter 12

**Here we are, the next chapter. Sorry it took so long to write, mind wouldn't get into the story. Enjoy, please leave a comment at the end :)**

Chapter Eleven

Minerva sighed as she looked over the list of teachers who had applied to become her new Transfiguration professor. Most of them were hardly out of study and the rest were simply those applying for any job which came their way. One name stuck out though.

Cameron Riddle. It was the surname which had caught Minerva's eye. She remembered going to school with a Tom Riddle, a Slytherin, and who later Albus was sure had become the new dark lord calling himself Voldemort. If this Cameron was anything like Tom Minerva didn't want anything to do with him, but she couldn't judge him simply on his surname. For all she knew it was a well-known muggle name and Cameron and Tom had no relation.

So she agreed for him to come in for an interview.

Cameron Riddle was tall. That was the first thing that came to mind when Minerva first saw him. His hair almost brushed the top of the door when he walked into the office.

"Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, I presume" his deep voice almost purred, smiling slightly down at her.

"Cameron Riddle" she smiled back, standing. She waved to one of the chairs. "Please, sit." They both sat. "Why do you believe you could take the Transfiguration classes taught here, Mr. Riddle?"

"I have taught before in many different magical schools all around the world" he produced a piece of parchment out of thin air and handed it to her. Minerva glanced at it, then back at him once before reading the parchment over. It was a list of school names and the years he had spent there.

"You begun teaching in 1875? I must saw, you do look well for a wizard in his hundreds" Minerva pointed out. Cameron smiled, his mouth opening slightly to revile two quite pointed small fangs on his upper set of teeth.

"I am not a full blooded wizard, Headmistress" he explained. "Will that be a problem?"

"No" Minerva smiled again, looking back at the list. She nodded to herself, then looked back up at Cameron with a wider smile. "Well, this looks quite fine. If you could fill out a couple of question, just to make sure you are suitable to teach, and then should be all."

"Really?" Cameron looked surprised as he took the pages of questions. "Is that all?"

"There were few who applied with your level of knowledge and of those you were the only one to get back to me" Minerva explained with a small smile. Cameron nodded, looking down at the list. He pulled a thin tube with a point at the end from his pocket and begun writing on the parchment, using his leg as a rest. Minerva stared, strangely fantasised by the tube which seemed to make ink out of nowhere and allowed Cameron to write quite quickly without smudges.

"What...is that?" Minerva asked as Cameron reached half way through the questions. He glanced up, eyebrows raised in question. Minerva pointed to the tube in his hands. "Your writing object."

"This?" Cameron held it up. "It's a pen. A muggle object used for writing. It keeps the ink within a small tube inside it and dries quickly enough to write over it a second later."

"Really?" Minerva reached out. "May I?"

Cameron nodded, handing it over to her. Minerva looked over the pen closely, frowning to herself. It looked so alien to her, so odd, but it seemed to work. Maybe she could talk to Cornelius about changing quills for these pens...

"Could I have it back?" Cameron asked, breaking her thoughts. Minerva shook her head, blinking herself from the thoughts, and smiled at him, handing the pen back. Cameron smiled and went on with the list of questions. While he did so Minerva thought.

So much would have to change, to make Hogwarts back into the school it had once been. The history books wrote about a completely different school to the one Minerva currently ran. But she would change that. She would turn the school back to the school the founders wanted it to be.

First though, she needed her Transfiguration teacher. So, as soon as Cameron was finished with the question, and after she had quickly looked them over, she nodded and stood, holding out a hand.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Professor Riddle."

Harry groaned as he fell, once again, into the pit, hands burning from the rope he had trying to climb.

"Come on wizard!"

Harry grumbled, pulling at the rope again. That was easy for the goblin to say - their hands were tough from always working with stone and role; they had grip to pull themselves up. Harry, even with all the exercise he did, didn't have the same strength and grip as they did. Somehow he managed to pull himself from the pit though, shooting glares at the laughing goblins around him.

"Huh - got out after three tries" the leader of their little group, an American goblin called Sharpsword, muttered thoughtfully, shutting up the other goblins. "Not bad, wizard. Most can't get out before the seventh, if at all. You did well."

"Thank you, Master Sharpsword" Harry smiled to him, making sure his show his teeth, bowing his head slightly. The other goblins grumbled to each other while those from England and America nodded to him.

"This way!" The scout of the group shouted, pointing into the forest. They gathered their belongings and followed, Harry close to the back, with an English goblin, Axblade, walking along next to him. For most of the walk they ignored each other, only speaking when agreeing to those further on then they were.

"Why did you come here, wizard?" Axblade asked suddenly after two hours of walking in silence. Harry glanced over at him, shifting one of his bags as he did so. Axblade glared. "Don't think me stupid. I've noticed you picking at plants and rocks when we're not looking. You're not a normal wizard and you're not interested in goblin minerals, so?" He glared up at Harry, daring him to disprove anything he just said.

"You're right" Harry agreed softly, glancing to the other goblins in their group. "I'm not here for the minerals..." He sighed, thinking of the best way to explain. "Have you heard of the story of the Deathly Hallow?"

"Those!" Axblade spat. "What do you want with objects so vile?"

"I wish to destroy them" Harry whispered, smiling at Axblade's dumbstruck face. "I have lived so long, Axblade...so long because I was once, for only a couple of minutes, the owner of all three Hallows, therefore making me the Master of Death. It has kept me young and unable to die as Death doesn't want a Master."

"So...you wish to destroy them so you can finally die?" Axblade summed up. Harry nodded and the goblin simply stared at him, then shook his head. "I wish you luck, then, but there is a reason why the Hallows have been around for so long."

"I know" Harry sighed, looking ahead. "That is why I am doing this, and keeping the Hallows close to myself. I wouldn't wish this life on anyone."

The last day of the Christmas holidays was a mess. With five children to get ready for Hogwarts again and many others to sort out, it suddenly made everything pass too quickly. LJ finished his homework while Hercules packed up three sets of books and Severus finished packing clothes. Every now and then LJ would call out a question and the other two boys took it in turn answering him. As soon as LJ was finished working he begun to pack, while Severus took up the time of homework. Hercules, who had been able to do his homework during the holidays, shook his head at his two friends but happily helped them.

"Hercules! There you are!"

Hercules turned, smiling at his mother. She held three jumpers in her arms, all newly made. She handed them to him.

"To make sure you all keep warm in that old castle" Diana smiled softly to him, touching her stomach. "Look after yourself Hercules."

"I will Mum. Thank you for the jumpers - I'm sure LJ and Sev will love them too" he grinned up at her. "Look after yourself as well."

Diana smiled softly again, kissing his check and then walked away, humming to herself. Hercules shook his head, turning back to his room where he had just come from. Severus and LJ both sat on the bed, waiting for him with odd looks on their faces. Hercules frowned at them as he put the jumpers on the bed, sitting down in front of them.

"Yes?" He asked slowly.

"Have you gotten a letter from Hogwarts?" Severus asked. Hercules frowned, shaking his head. His Slytherin friend handed his own over to read.

"Mr. Snape it has come to our attention...no longer have a family member older then seventeen...ORPHANAGE?" Hercules glared at the letter. "They want to send you to an orphanage?"

"Not just Severus" LJ explained softly. "All of us - all our siblings. Unless an adult comes forward able to look after us."

"An adult...like my parents?" Hercules asked, thoughts brewing quickly. "I'm sure they'll in a heartbeat!"

"Read it again" LJ told him softly, nodding to the letter. Hercules frowned once again, turning back to it.

"...by law any adults who want to take in any orphaned children have to prove they have enough room and money to do so. However if the family already have two or more children, they will not be allowed to take any other children."

"That's stupid" Hercules growled as soon as he had finished reading. "What about your siblings? Felix and Paloma? Can't they do anything?"

"Paloma's too young" Severus muttered in annoyance.

"And Felix can't because, legally, we live in America. This" LJ waved the letter around, "is only for us while we're living in England. If we go back to America...well, we'll be living on the streets anyway."

"No, I won't let that happen" Hercules promised them. "I don't know about my parents and screw the Ministry - you or your family ever need a place to stay, for whatever reason, I'll happily give up my own bed and room for you guys."

"Thank you" Severus muttered with a smile. LJ grinned, tackling Hercules with a hug, almost pushing them off the bed. Both boys grabbed Severus, pulling him down as well and the three of them laughed, the seriousness of the conversation gone for the moment as they lay with their friends, just enjoying time together.


	13. Chapter 13

p style="text-align: left;"Hi everyone, I'm sorry to have left all my stories quite silent for some time but since it's summer I'm hoping to get back to all of them. I will be rewriting most, if not all of them, before I continue them though. Thanks for following the stories though :) I hope you like their new versions just as much!/p  
p style="text-align: left;"Emeral/p 


End file.
